Ulterior Motives
by Miss Caitie Jo
Summary: Ariadne asks Arthur about their kiss in Fischer's mind. He said it was just a distraction, but Ariadne suspects something more is going on. Set immediately after the plane lands in L.A. Eventual Ariadne/Arthur
1. Chapter 1

_Synopsis: __Ariadne asks Arthur about their kiss in Fischer's mind. He said it was just a distraction, but Ariadne suspects something more is going on._

___Disclaimer: I don't own Inception or the characters. I wish I did though._

* * *

"What?" Arthur raised an eyebrow when Ariadne asked him what their kiss in Fischer's dream meant. "It was a kiss in a dream. It was meant as a distraction." He pulled his suitcase off the luggage belt. "It didn't mean anything else."

"Okay." She spied her bag and grabbed it.

"Okay?" Arthur asked. "Then why did you ask me?"

"Just wanted to make sure it didn't mean anything to you either." She lied.

Arthur's normally stern façade faltered.

"_Ah ha!"_ She thought to herself. _"It did mean something to him, but why did he say it didn't?"_

"Arthur Darling it's been, eh, interesting as usual. Do me a favor will you? Try to be more interesting next time." Eames winked at him.

Arthur huffed.

"Ariadne love, it was a pleasure." He smiled.

"Likewise." She hugged him.

"If you get bored in LA or just miss me…" He scribbled something on the back of a card. "Here is my number and where I'll be staying." He winked.

Arthur's cheeks turned pink. "Alright Eames that's enough. You'll end up scaring her away."

"Oh Arthur if you miss me that much you just have to say so." Eames put his arm around Arthur.

"Piss off!" Arthur shoved him away.

"Anything for you." Eames whispered. "You as well Ariadne." Eames kissed her forehead.

She giggled.

Arthur huffed and walked away.

"You shouldn't antagonize him so." Ariadne tried to control her giggles.

"I know, but I only do it because I get a reaction." He shrugged.

"Goodbye Eames." She waved as she walked away.

"Ta ta Love." He winked.

* * *

"Ahem." Ariadne said.

Arthur turned around. "Yes?"

"You shouldn't react to everything he says." She said softly.

"Thank you Cobb." He sighed. "Don't you think I know that?" His tone was snarky.

"Someone needs a nap." She grumbled and put her bag in the trunk of the taxi. She closed the trunk so he had to open it to put his suitcase in. She slid into the seat, and was tempted to tell the driver to leave him. She decided against it. It would be mean, and that wasn't her nature. Arthur wasn't himself. She figured it was because they just finished the job and he was upset at almost losing Cobb. She wondered if he blamed her. There was no way she could have prevented Mal from shooting Fischer. Cobb came back with Saito and all was well. Miles was there to pick him up and take him home to his children. She looked over at Arthur. He had told the driver where to drop them off and was now absently drumming his fingers against his temple. She wished that their kiss meant something, but her mother always told her that wishing never gets you anywhere. Arthur seemed on edge, and a little distracted. She didn't realize that the thought of losing Cobb in limbo was enough to break Arthur. She didn't know that Cobb would have been the second person Arthur had lost in limbo.

* * *

The taxi stopped in front of a five star hotel. She knew Arthur's style and it sure wasn't hers. He stepped out of the taxi and pulled his suitcase out of the trunk. He walked back around and looked at Ariadne. She thought he was saying goodbye. She was wrong.

He wondered why she was still sitting in the cab. "Are you coming?"

It was then that she noticed he had her luggage also. "Oh. Yeah. I guess I thought I'd be staying somewhere else." She slid out and Arthur paid the driver.

"Where else would you stay?" Arthur looked perplexed.

"Uh, I don't know." She shrugged. She reached for her bag, but Arthur had already slung it over his shoulder.

"I've got it." He smiled.

They walked inside and Ariadne felt incredibly underdressed. Arthur walked up to the front desk and the woman handed him two envelopes.

"The two rooms are adjoining. You can have either one. It doesn't matter to me." He held them out. She picked the one on the right.

"I figured it didn't matter if our rooms were adjoining, but if it bothers you we can change." He seemed worried.

"No, it's fine." She was just ready to get in her room so she wouldn't feel so out of place. "Are you alright Arthur?" She asked as he leaned his head against the elevator wall.

"I'm exhausted." He sighed.

* * *

"What do you think?" Arthur asked as they walked into Ariadne's room. He set her bag down.

"It's extravagant." She breathed.

Arthur chuckled. "I figured you had never stayed in a 5 star hotel before."

"I haven't." She admitted.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit. I have to meet someone tonight or else we could go to dinner." He yawned.

"That's fine." Ariadne was ready to get some sleep herself.

"Maybe tomorrow? You can order room service if you like. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled.

"Alright." She said.

He turned to walk into his room, but stopped. "Ariadne, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I'm tired, and I have a lot on my mind. Still, that's no excuse."

"It's alright Arthur." She smiled.

* * *

Ariadne took a taxi to an office building downtown. She had heard that her friend Jack was working for his father's business. She walked inside.

"Good afternoon." The receptionist smiled. "May I help you?"

"Yes, is Jackson Walters here?"

"I think he is. May I tell him why you are here? Is it business related?" The woman was chipper.

"No, it's a social visit." Ariadne smiled.

"Have a seat." The receptionist's eyes narrowed.

Ariadne sat and waited. A few minutes later she heard an elevator ding, and footsteps.

"Jackson Walters." He held out his hand. She smiled and stood up. He dropped his hand. "Oh my gosh! Ariadne? Ariadne Peters?"

"Hey Jack." She hugged him.

"What are you doing in LA?" He hugged her.

"I'm here for work, and I thought I'd pop in to see you." She smiled.

"I'm glad you did. Do you have dinner plans?" He glanced at his watch.

"No." She shook her head.

"Perfect. Then you can have dinner with me. We can catch up." He grinned.

* * *

"So where are you these days?" Jack asked her.

"Paris. I'm studying to be an architect." She smiled.

"Impressive. Well, maybe we should have gone to a nicer place." He looked around the diner they were sitting in.

"Not at all! I have been craving American food." She smiled.

"Perfect! Do you want to talk to Ellie?" He asked.

"Sure! Where is she?"

"She is in Phoenix for a week. How long will you be around?" He pulled out his phone.

"At least a week I think." Ariadne had no clue how long she would be in LA.

"Great! I know she will want to see you." He dialed the number. "Hey Ellie. Guess who I'm having dinner with?" He grinned at Ariadne.

"I don't know. Your dad?"

"No. Ariadne Peters."

"Oh my gosh! Tell her I said hey!"

"You can tell her yourself. You're on speaker." He grinned.

"Oh my gosh hey Ari!" She sounded happy.

"Hey Ellie!" Ariadne grinned. "How are you?"

"I'm great. What are you doing in LA?"

"I'm here for a week or so with work."

"That's great. When I get back we'll have to get together. I wish I wasn't in Phoenix this week."

"Give me a call when you get back. I can't wait to see you." Ariadne grinned.

"I will. See you soon."

"Sounds great."

"Bye Babe. Love you." Jack said.

"Love you too Sweetie." Ellie hung up the phone.

* * *

"Oh no." Ariadne mumbled when she saw Arthur walk in.

"What?" Jack looked around. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah. We sort of work together. I just didn't expect to see him tonight and he said he had dinner plans." She sunk down in her seat.

"I see. Well, he's getting take-out. You like him don't you?" Jack teased.

Ariadne rolled her eyes.

"We could walk out and see if he gets flustered." Jack had the mischievous smirk that she remembered from high school.

She laughed.

Arthur recognized her laugh and glanced in their direction.

"Really Ari. I'm serious." Jack slid out of the booth.

"I'm sure you are." She chuckled.

"Ariadne?" Arthur looked surprised and flustered – much to Jack's delight.

"Hi Arthur. I thought you had dinner plans?" She inwardly cringed. She didn't mean for that to come out.

"I do." He smiled at her as he picked up his bag of food. "See you tomorrow." He smirked.

* * *

Ariadne woke up at six. She wasn't a morning person. She could hear Arthur in his room on the phone. His voice was high pitched and angry. She wondered what could possibly be so important at six in the morning. She crawled out of bed and put her robe on. She opened the adjoining door to Arthur's room and banged on his door. She was mad at him for waking her up this early.

The door flew open. "What?" He shouted with his phone still pressed to his ear.

"You woke me up." She slapped the phone out of his hand. "That's what." She growled and slammed the door. She flipped the lock and went back to bed. She liked Arthur – at the very least as a friend. She didn't mean to react like she did, but having him direct all of his anger at her with that one word hurt. It really hurt. She felt angry tears well up in her eyes. She was mad at Arthur, and mad at herself for being upset over Arthur.

* * *

Later that day Arthur knocked on her door. "Ariadne?" He felt horrible for yelling at her like he did.

"Yes?" She asked as she opened the door.

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

"Arthur." She sighed. "You can't keep yelling at me and then expect to turn around and be forgiven when you say you're sorry." She started to close her door.

"I know. I'm sorry I yelled at you this morning. I realize you were banging on the door to tell me I woke you up. I am sorry for that too."

"Alright Arthur." She smiled sadly, and closed the door.

* * *

"I know I said I would show you around, and I will." Arthur sighed. "I, have to take care of something. We will have dinner one night. I promise." He gave her a small smile.

"Alright." She smiled, trying to hide her disappointment. She had been on her own for several days and she was bored and lonely.

Arthur saw the disappointment in her eyes and felt guilty.

"I'm going to find some breakfast, and I think I'll shop." She smiled.

"Have fun." Arthur said.

* * *

Ariadne found an outdoor café and ate breakfast. She asked the waitress for the bill, but was told that someone had already paid for it. She glanced around and saw Eames reading a paper. She smirked. She picked up her drink and walked over to him.

"Hello Love." He smiled.

"Good morning. Thank you for breakfast." She smiled.

"You're welcome." He smirked.

"Have you been following me?" She raised an eyebrow.

He laughed. "No. I haven't. I saw you when I walked up and wondered why you were all by yourself. It's a big city Darling. You shouldn't wander around unsupervised."

"Arthur called you didn't he?" She sighed.

"Ariadne please. Arthur would rather kiss a rodent than call me." He said, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I'll have to remember not to kiss him anytime soon." She said dryly.

Eames guffawed.

"What has he been up to?" She asked.

Eames quit laughing. "He's been busy." He said seriously.

"He said he had to take care of something." She said blankly.

"And it's taking longer than he thought." He pressed his lips together.

* * *

Arthur opened the adjoining door to Ariadne's room. Her door was open and her things were gone. A sickening feeling crept into his stomach. She had left a note on the table. _"Arthur, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I've gone to stay with a friend. Hope you get everything taken care of. Thanks for everything! Take care, Ariadne."_

Arthur wished he had gotten her number. He called Eames. "Where is she? Is Ariadne with you?" He asked.

"Why would she be with me?" Eames grumbled.

"She's not at the hotel and she left me a note saying she would be staying with a friend. Have you seen her?" Arthur was panicking. He never panicked.

"Yesterday morning. She was going shopping." Eames yawned.

"Do you have her number?" Arthur looked around for a pen in case Eames did.

"Don't you?" Eames asked.

"No." Arthur sighed.

"Well I'm sure Cobb has it. You could always call him. Of course you would have to tell him that _you_ LOST _his_ new architect." Eames chuckled.

"I did not _lose_ her!" Arthur fumed.

"Didn't Dom tell you to look out for her?" Eames asked.

"Yes." Arthur sighed. He hated agreeing with Eames.

"And yet you have been gallivanting about Los Angeles without paying dear Ariadne any attention at all." Eames was enjoying reveling in Arthur's _mistake_.

"And why is it that I have had to do that you sorry son of a …"

"Okay! Okay!" Eames interrupted. It wasn't fun anymore.

"Admit it's your fault!" Arthur yelled.

"I have. It's my fault Arthur. I'm sorry. Alright?" He snipped.

"You know it's not alright!" Arthur snapped and hung up the phone.

Eames sighed. He knew it wasn't alright. It never would be.

* * *

"Ari!" Ellie squealed. "Oh my gosh! It's so good to see you!" They hugged her.

"It's good to see you too. Thanks for letting me stay." Ariadne grinned.

"Not a problem! There's no need for you to stay at a hotel." Ellie grinned.

Ariadne was glad to be out of the hotel. She was ready to be around a friend instead of the ever distant Arthur.

* * *

Cobb rolled over when he heard a knock on the door. He had fallen asleep on the sofa. "Ariadne?" He opened the door and yawned.

"Hi." She smiled. "Were you sleeping?" She looked at her watch. It was nine pm.

"I fell asleep on the sofa for a few minutes. What's up? Are you okay?" Suddenly he was concerned. "Where's Arthur?" He stepped aside and gestured for her to step in.

"I don't know. He's probably back at the hotel by now." She shrugged.

"Why aren't you with him?" Cobb crossed his arms like a disapproving father.

"I… I don't know. I'm either in my room or sightseeing alone. I had breakfast with Eames the other day. I've hardly seen Arthur!" She huffed, angry tears filled her eyes. "And when I have he's angry at me."

Cobb sighed. "This is why I asked him to look after you. What could he possibly be doing that's more important?" He thought for a second. "Oh."

"Yeah. That was Eames' reaction too. What's going on? Arthur won't tell me anything. I mean, are you guys pissed at me or what?" She threw her hands up.

"What? Why?" He asked, surprised by her statement.

"Because Mal shot Fischer and because you were almost lost in limbo." She started crying. "I'm sorry!"

"Ariadne." He took a step closer to her. "You have nothing to be sorry for! You didn't do anything wrong." He hugged her. "We aren't mad at you. I promise." He smiled.

"But Arthur…" She began.

"Arthur has a lot on his plate. If I'd had a choice I wouldn't have let him in on the job, but he's the best." He shrugged. He glanced at his phone when it started ringing. "Hey Arthur. I didn't expect to hear from you so soon." He knew exactly why Arthur was calling. He had expected it as soon as he saw Ariadne.

"Do you have Ariadne's number?" Arthur's voice was panicky.

"Where is she? Is she alright?" Cobb decided to play dumb.

"I don't know Dom. She left. I don't know where she is." He confessed.

"I asked you to keep an eye on her." Cobb fussed.

"I know you did. I'm sorry." He sighed.

"I'm sure I have her number somewhere." He glanced at Ariadne and smirked. "If I find it I'll let you know. I'm sure she's fine Arthur. Don't worry!" Cobb tried to reassure him. "How long has she been gone?"

"Almost a week."

"A week? And you are just now calling me to get her number?" Cobb was irritated.

"I didn't want to bother you so soon. I guess I thought she would have called by now." He sighed.

"Do you know why she left?" Cobb knew of course, but wanted to hear from Arthur's explanation.

"I've been too busy to look after her." Arthur admitted.

"That's what happens when you ignore women. They run off." Dom smirked.

Arthur rolled his eyes. Dom hadn't lost his sense of humor.

"I'm sure she's fine Arthur. Don't worry. I'll look for her number and I'll call you back."

"Alright. Thanks Dom. Night." Arthur said.

"Night Arthur." Cobb hung up the phone. He looked at Ariadne. "Go back to the hotel and put him out of his misery. Please? I think you have made him suffer enough."

"Alright. I will." She smiled. "Thanks Dom." She hugged him.

"You're welcome. Night Ariadne." He smiled as she walked out the door.

* * *

Arthur had dozed off when he heard the door to Ariadne's room open. – He had left the adjoining doors open. Just in case she came back.

"Ariadne!" He hugged her when he saw her.

"Hey Arthur." She smiled.

"You're alright!" He was relieved.

"Yes. I'm fine." She was taken aback by his forwardness.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I came back that day and you were gone. I thought something had happened to you." He smiled.

"Arthur you are paranoid." She set her bag down.

"In this business you have to be. I'm sorry I bailed on you." He apologized.

"I thought you were mad at me!" She blurted.

"What? Why?" He was confused. "Because I yelled at you the other day?"

"Well that, and because of everything that went wrong!" She was flustered, and trying to hold back tears.

He chuckled. "Ariadne. I've never done a job where everything went right."

"But what about Cobb going into limbo?"

"Wouldn't have been your fault and we would have gone in and gotten him if he didn't wake up." He smiled. "I'm sorry if my mood at the airport made you think I was mad at you. I have had a lot on my mind lately. Would you like to have breakfast with me in the morning? This time I really mean it."

"Sure." She smiled.

"How about 9?" He knew she wasn't a morning person.

"Sounds good. Goodnight Arthur." She yawned.

"Goodnight Ariadne." He smiled and walked back to his room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

At about a quarter 'til 9 Ariadne knocked on Arthur's door.

"Arthur?" She called through the door.

"Good morning." Arthur gave her a small smile. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded.

They walked to the elevators in silence.

"Cobb wanted you to look after me?" Ariadne asked when they were on the elevator.

"Mmhmm." Arthur murmured. He leaned his head against the wall suddenly seeming less awake then he had moments ago.

"I'm a big girl Arthur. I can look after myself!" Her words sounded stronger than she meant them to.

"I know, and I'm sorry you have had to." He apologized quietly.

"Why have I had to Arthur? No one seems to know. Not Eames. Not Cobb." She crossed her arms.

"You saw Dom?" Arthur's eyes flew open.

"Yes. I did. Why?"

"And he didn't tell you?" Arthur's tone was _strange_.

"No, but he did say if he'd had a choice he wouldn't have let you in on the Fischer job." She explained.

"I wouldn't have let myself on, but he told me I had to. Things that went wrong weren't your fault – they were mine. I was distracted and I missed things." He sighed.

She could tell he was beating himself up over it. "Arthur." She touched his arm. "Even perfect people make mistakes every now and then." She smirked.

A smile broke across his face. "Thank you Ariadne. After breakfast we can take a drive and you can meet the source of my distraction."

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled. Inside she was a bundle of nerves. She liked Arthur. What if this 'distraction' was his wife or child? The thought made her sick.

* * *

_So let me know what you thought and if you have any ideas. Thanks! :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_So first of all, thanks so much for the reviews! :) _

_Secondly, Happy New Year everybody! :) _

_Third, I don't own Inception._

_Fourth, here is chapter 2 and Arthur's distraction..._

_Enjoy. :)_

* * *

Arthur drove to a hospital outside of LA. They walked inside and he told the receptionist that he was there to visit Daphne Livingston. She told him the doctor would be down in a few minutes. Arthur nodded as he and Ariadne sat down in the waiting room. Ariadne wanted to ask who Daphne was, but didn't know how. She knew if Arthur said Daphne was his wife she was going to be sick.

"Daphne is my sister." Arthur broke the silence.

Ariadne didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say, but she was definitely relieved.

"She was our architect before Nash. I know I am biased, but she was really good. The job was supposed to be a basic extraction. In and out. No big deal. Dom and I got the information. Daphne insisted on going in with us. She hadn't been in very much, and I wanted her to sit it out. Dom said it would be fine. We sent her with Eames. He was supposed to watch out for her and make sure nothing happened to her. I don't know exactly what happened. Somehow the dreamer's subconscious found us. We barely made it out. Eames woke up and Daphne didn't. She got lost in limbo. It seemed like it took Dom hours to get her out. By the time he pulled her out she had lived an entire lifetime in limbo. Her sense of reality was completely warped. Her memory was gone. She looked like a lost child." He sighed. He seemed relieved to tell her."

"Arthur that's horrible. I'm so sorry!" Ariadne whispered. The gravity of their work sunk in. They were lucky to get out alive. "How is she doing?"

"Physically, she's fine. She doesn't remember much of anything – as far as I can tell. She recognizes me when she sees me, but she doesn't remember that I'm her brother." He shrugged.

"What about your parents?" She asked.

"My parents." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Remember the other morning when I woke you up? I was on the phone with them. They haven't been to see her, and they don't understand what happened."

"What do you mean? What's not to understand?" She asked.

"They don't know about extraction. They don't know what Daphne and I do." He rubbed his face with his hands.

"So what do they think happened to her?"

"I told them she was mugged. She was walking out to her car after work, and…" He shrugged. "I mean, what else could I tell them? They are so pissed at me. They told me to look after her and I failed them." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"There's nothing you could have done Arthur." Ariadne touched his arm.

"I should have never trusted Eames. Ever. That's what I could have done." He grumbled.

* * *

"Hi." Arthur smiled as they walked into Daphne's room.

"Hey!" She grinned and hugged him. She saw Ariadne and smiled. "Hi. If I knew you before, I don't recognize you. I don't remember my name. They call me Jane Doe." She shrugged.

"I'm…" Ariadne began.

"Don't tell me. I want to remember on my own!" Daphne exclaimed.

"It's okay. You didn't know her before. Her name is Ariadne." Arthur smiled.

"Oh. I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you." Daphne smiled.

"You too." Ariadne smiled.

"If he didn't tell you – they think I'm crazy." Daphne rolled her eyes.

Ariadne giggled.

"I don't think you are crazy." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I know _you_ don't, but the hospital does. I can't remember my own name. I wish you could just tell me what happened, but I know you can't." She smiled bleakly.

"I wish I could too." His phone rang. "I have to take this. Show Ari your sketches." He smiled and walked out.

"Do you draw Ariadne?" Daphne asked as she pulled out her sketchbook.

"Yes. You do too?"

"Yes. It helps me pass the time. Nick and Arthur are the only people who visit me." She flipped through pages in her sketchbook. "See? I have these flashes; old memories. This is before Nick and Arthur hated each other."

Daphne had drawn a picture of Nick and Arthur standing next to each other.

"This is incredible." Ariadne mused at both the sketch and the fact that she recognized _both_ men in the sketch.

"Arthur doesn't think I remember him." Daphne seemed sad.

"You haven't told him?" Ariadne was surprised. Daphne _did_ remember Arthur.

"No. I'm still trying to figure out why I'm here. This is the last thing I remember." She pulled a box out from under her bed. "I have to hide it because if Arthur saw it he would freak." She held out the page. It explained so much to Ariadne. Nick had his arms around Daphne and they were kissing. She had one hand on his cheek and the other was tangled in his hair. "After that moment I just remember being alone for a long time. I don't know what happened. I think it was Nick's fault."

"Why do you think that?" Ariadne felt sorry for her.

"The look in his eyes. His eyes are full of regret, and sadness. He hasn't seen this sketch either." She put the page away and absently flipped through her sketchbook. "I heard some of the nurses talking a few weeks ago. They said I was mugged, but I don't think I was." She said quietly.

"Sorry about that." Arthur walked back in and sat down.

"Not a problem Arthur." Daphne said. She didn't realize what she said. – His name.

His mouth dropped open. "You said my name!" He gasped.

"I did, didn't I? I was almost sure it was your name, but I didn't want to be wrong. Then I realized that you're my brother and you wouldn't care if I got your name wrong or not." She smiled.

Arthur grinned. "I wouldn't care what you called me as long as you remembered me!" He hugged her.

"I do remember you." She grinned. All of a sudden memories came flooding back – as if acknowledging Arthur was the hurdle she had to jump to get her memory back. She started flipping through pages again. "These make sense now. That was you and me – the last time we went to Grandmother's house." She showed him the sketch.

"Yes it was." He smiled.

"I should probably tell you that Nick has been to see me too." She admitted, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

"I would be just fine not knowing that." Arthur sighed.

"You hate him because of what happened to me. Don't you?" Daphne looked sad.

"What makes you say that?" Arthur's tone softened.

"He's been to see me a few times, and every time his eyes look so sad and so full of regret. You two used to be friends. See?" She held up the sketch of Arthur and Nick.

The look on Arthur's face confirmed it. He sighed, but didn't say anything.

"I'm alright Arthur." She smiled at him. "Eventually I'll remember everything, and I'll be back to normal." She hugged him.

"I know." Arthur kissed her forehead.

* * *

Arthur and Ariadne rode the elevator up to their rooms.

"Thank you." Arthur kissed her cheek.

"You're welcome." She smiled, and realized she was blushing.

Ariadne walked into her room and changed into a tank top and pajama pants. She plopped down on her bed to read a book when Arthur knocked on the door.

"Ariadne?" He called.

"Yeah?" She answered as she walked to the door.

"Do you mind if I come in?" He smirked.

"Sure." She opened the door. "What's up?"

"You changed." He noted.

"Uh, yeah." She blushed. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah." He said absently as he walked in the room. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Arthur. You just saw me five minutes ago." She crossed her arms.

"I know." He shut the door behind him.

"Arthur. You're scaring me." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." He put his hands on her shoulders.

She shivered at his touch.

"My room was ransacked." He said calmly.

"What?" She shrieked.

"Check your shower, closet and under your bed." He said walking around.

"I did already." She rolled her eyes and smirked.

"And you call _me_ paranoid." He teased.

"Well…" She shrugged.

They both looked at the door when they heard someone trying to pick the lock.

"Arthur…" She looked at him. "What do we do?"

"Just go along." He whispered, and pulled her close.

She gasped when his lips crashed against hers. His touch sent shivers through her body. She tried to maintain some sense of cognitive thought as they fell on the bed. Arthur's arms were wrapped around her and his hands rested on her hips. His fingers brushed against her bare skin between the tank top and her pants. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her fingers were tangled in his hair. She was trying to concentrate on the kiss, but her head felt fuzzy and heavy. The sensation became more intense when Arthur's tongue met hers. Apparently he was going for the full effect.

"Oi! You two?" It was Eames.

Arthur and Ariadne untangled themselves and glared at him.

"I picked the lock one whole minute ago." He seemed very proud of himself. "I don't know what the two of you were trying to prove, but it was very convincing." He grinned.

Ariadne's face turned bright red from embarrassment.

Arthur jumped up. "Eames! What are you doing here?"

"You could have knocked." Ariadne crossed her arms.

"In hindsight I guess I could have, but letting myself in was so much more fun. I got to be privy to this little scene of yours." He smirked.

"We didn't know who was coming through the door so it was a… _distraction_." Arthur said firmly.

"A distraction?" Eames chuckled. "Distraction my Aunt Fanny."

Arthur ignored him. "Did you ransack my room?" He glared.

"Define 'ransack' for me Arthur darling. You know I don't use big words." Eames sighed dramatically.

"Plunder?" Arthur looked at him.

Eames stared blankly.

"Oh my word. Again?" Arthur rolled his eyes as if 'specificity' wasn't bad enough. "Have you been in my room? Did you search through my room?"

"Oh. Yes I did." Eames admitted shamelessly as he sat down in a chair.

"I thought someone had broken in and was after us." Arthur was relieved, but still irritated at Eames.

"It was just me, and it was mostly just to irritate you. Of course when I broke into Ari's room I didn't expect to see the two of you tangled together on _her_ bed." He grinned.

"Well, when I went to see my sister today I didn't expect her to tell me that _you_ have been visiting her." Arthur countered.

Eames' smile disappeared.

"It doesn't really bother me that you visit her. What really bothers me is that she remembered you before she remembered me." Arthur was angry.

Eames knew he had to tread carefully. "Arthur." He said quietly. "She remembered you. She always did. The first time I went to see her she asked for you. She said she wanted to see her brother. That was before the Fischer job."

"Why did you visit her in the first place?" Arthur felt better knowing that Daphne remembered him before Eames. That is, if Eames was even telling the truth.

"I felt guilty about what happened. It was my fault Arthur. I promised you I would get her out in one piece, and I didn't." He rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm sorry Arthur."

"What happened?"

"Now isn't the time to talk about it." Eames said. He knew Arthur was still angry, and telling him exactly what happened would infuriate him.

"And when exactly would be the time to talk about it?" Arthur crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I suppose you have a point." Eames shrugged.

"Eames." Ariadne warned. She didn't know what happened, but she didn't think he should tell Arthur now.

* * *

_What did you think? I went with sister and memory loss. Too far fetched? Eh, I don't know. What exactly happened? Eames is making me wait until chapter 3... Which is why this chapter is shorter. I wanted to include it, but he stomped his foot and pouted like a child... :)_

_Reviews are fabulous and comments and suggestions of any kind are always welcome! Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 3

__

So I thought I was going to get this up before now, but the chapter had other ideas... _So here is chapter 3._

_Remember, I own nothing..._

"Tell me. Now." Arthur glared.

"Alright, alright." Eames sighed and rolled his eyes. "Everything had gone perfectly. Too perfectly. The dreamer's subconscious sent thugs after us. They came out of nowhere. We started running and they started shooting at us. A shot grazed my arm. I tried to block Daphne from their shots, but she got hit anyway. I picked her up and kept running. We finally lost them, and I stopped to catch my breath. Daphne was screaming and crying. She begged me to do something. Anything. She wanted me to shoot her so she would wake up. I knew the time was almost up and told her to just wait a minute. I didn't want to shoot her. I knew you would kill me." Eames explained.

"You got that right." Arthur fumed.

"Anyway." Eames rolled his eyes. "She grabbed the gun from my waist. I grabbed her and kissed her. I didn't know what else to do to distract her. I grabbed the gun, but she shot herself before I could get it away. Then I felt myself being pulled out of the dream. I woke up expecting her to smack me for kissing her. She never did." He chewed on his lip. "Arthur. I'm sorry." His eyes were full of regret. Ariadne knew he blamed himself for what happened. She knew Arthur blamed him too.

"I NEVER should have trusted you!" Arthur yelled at him. "She's my sister! I told you to look after her!" He started shouting obscenities at Eames.

Eames cringed and covered Ariadne's ears.

She rolled her eyes, and tried not to start laughing. Then she started thinking about how Eames felt the need to cover her ears so she wouldn't hear the words Arthur was saying. She could still hear him, and she had heard most of the words before. She started giggling. She stood up and walked into her bathroom, and shut the door. Eventually Arthur quit shouting. She heard Eames shout 'ouch' and a door slam. She opened the door and walked into the room. Arthur was gone, and Eames was sitting on the couch covering his eye with his hand. "Eames? Are you alright?"

"Ariadne do you have some ice?" He asked completely ignoring her question.

"Sure." She grabbed a washcloth and some ice. "Here you go." She handed it to him.

"Thank you Darling." He winced as he placed the ice against his eye.

"Let me see." She sat down beside him.

"No. I'm fine." He said.

"Arthur punched you didn't he?" Ariadne knew that he did.

"Yes." Eames muttered.

Ariadne took the ice from him. The corner of his eye was turning purple, and the side of his face was starting to swell. "Ouch. You had better keep the ice on that for a while." She gave him the ice.

"Thank you." He winked. "So tell me about that kiss with Arthur. Looked serious to me."

The blush crept back into Ariadne's cheeks.

"So it _was_ serious." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear Arthur? It was just a distraction." She crossed her arms. "Just like our kiss in Fischer's mind." She muttered.

"Let me rephrase." He sighed. "It was serious to you." He looked at her.

Hot, angry tears filled her eyes.

Eames nodded and slipped his arm around her.

The tears spilled over and she started sobbing.

"Darling." Eames kissed her head. "Arthur has always been crummy at sharing his feelings."

"He didn't have to kiss me. We could have gone into his room, or hid behind the bed or something." She sniffled.

"True, but it was probably the first thing he thought of, and maybe he wanted to." Eames shrugged.

"He's been so distant, and after we went to see Daphne he changed. He was relieved that she told him she remembered him. I was relieved for him. When we rode up the elevator tonight he kissed my cheek." She smiled, and yawned.

"I'm going to leave so you can get some sleep. Are you sure you're alright?" He asked.

"I think so. Thanks Nick." She smirked and kissed his cheek.

Eames chuckled. "Goodnight Ms. Peters." He winked.

"How do you know my last name?" She called to him as he walked out the door.

"Forger. I know everything." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes and closed the door behind him. She crawled into bed and switched off the light.

* * *

Arthur sprawled out on his bed, and let Eames' words play over again and again in his head. He was still angry at Eames, but was beginning to realize that it really wasn't Eames' fault. Daphne always did what she wanted when she wanted. He shook his head. And Ariadne. He knew he was in deep trouble with her. First he had kissed her in Fischer's mind and told her it didn't mean anything. Then he didn't tell her about Daphne and practically ignored her for over a week. He kissed her cheek on the elevator. Lastly, when he thought someone was breaking into her room his first thought was to grab her and kiss her. Cobb had told him to look after her – not toy with her emotions. He didn't mean to, but that's exactly what he was doing. He knew she had to be upset with him. She had every right to be. He was mad at himself. He was doing the very same thing he always fussed at Eames for doing. The toying with women's emotions part anyway. He sat up when he heard a door shut. Eames must have left. He thought about going to talk to her, but he didn't know what to say. He could tell her he was sorry, or that he wanted to kiss her. Before he realized it he had knocked on her door.

Ariadne opened the door in her robe. "Arthur? What is it?" She yawned. She noticed he was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants and his hair was messed up. It made him look younger than he was.

"Um, were you sleeping?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah I was. Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

She looked confused.

"For everything. I'm sorry Ariadne." He hugged her.

"Um, okay." She was still confused, but she hugged him back.

"You were sound asleep weren't you?" He cringed.

"Yeah." She shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I'll let you get back to bed." He smiled.

"Um, okay. Are you sure you're alright? If you need to talk I'll stay up. I don't mind." She smiled.

"I need to talk." He admitted.

"Then let's talk." She gestured him in.

"Thanks." He smiled and walked in.

She sat down cross legged on the sofa. "What's up Arthur?"

He sat down. "I feel awful about how I've treated you. I've been a horrible friend and I really I am sorry."

She was still miffed at him, but he was being sweet. "Arthur, you _have_ been a horrible friend, but you've had a lot going on. I understand."

"You've been great, and I just feel bad. I'll quit apologizing eventually, but for now just let me feel bad okay?" He wanted her to realize how bad he felt and then maybe she would understand why he kept apologizing. He liked her and at first he thought that she liked him too, but now he wasn't sure.

Ariadne giggled. "Okay Arthur."

"And earlier if I had known it was Eames I would have suggested hiding in the closest and jumping out to scare him." He grinned.

Ariadne laughed. "That would have been hysterical."

"It would have. I know I surprised you when I kissed you. The truth is it was just an excuse for me to kiss you. I've wanted to kiss you, but I didn't have the guts to just kiss you outright." He admitted, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

Ariadne was stunned. She honestly didn't believe he felt that way about her. "Arthur, I…" She began.

He leaned towards her and softly kissed her mouth.

Just like the other kisses, Ariadne felt a spark when his lips touched hers. She smiled at him.

"Ariadne, I… I think…" He began.

"I think I'm going to get some sleep." She yawned.

"Alright." He smiled. "Do you want to eat breakfast with me in the morning?" He seemed nervous.

"Sure. I'll see you at 9." She stood up.

"Goodnight Ariadne." He walked back to his room.

"Goodnight Arthur." She kissed his cheek.

* * *

Arthur rolled over and looked at the alarm clock. It was almost three. He couldn't sleep. He had been analyzing his entire conversation with Ariadne for hours. He really wasn't sure what he was going to say when she interrupted him. He was kind of glad that she did so he didn't say something stupid. She didn't freak out when he kissed her. That was a good sign. She kissed his cheek and agreed to have breakfast with him. Two more good signs, or at the very least not bad signs.

* * *

"Good morning." Ariadne smiled.

"Morning." Arthur tried to smile. He was exhausted.

"You look tired Arthur. Did you not sleep well?" She asked.

"Not really." He yawned.

"Sorry about last night. I would have stayed up and talked longer, but I had taken a sleeping pill and I could barely keep my eyes open." She closed her door behind her.

"Why do you have sleeping pills?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Yusuf gave them to me. He said I might have trouble sleeping after Inception. I told him I would be fine, but he insisted. I'm glad he did." She pressed the elevator button.

"Have you had trouble?" He was concerned. He hadn't thought to ask her how she had been sleeping.

"Yes. The first night I fell asleep, but I woke up about an hour later and was awake for another hour. I took one of the pills and slept great the rest of the night. I haven't needed them every night. The only reason I took one last night is because I had so much on my mind and I just wanted to sleep." She smiled and stepped into the elevator.

"And I woke you up." He cringed.

"Yeah, but it was okay. You said you needed to talk." She blushed thinking about their kiss.

"I did, but you could have told me you wanted to sleep. It could have waited until today." He smiled.

"Arthur." She sighed. "You and I both know it could _not_ have waited until today." She smirked.

Arthur blushed and grinned sheepishly.

She giggled.

"And I'm sorry you had to witness me yelling at Eames." He said changing the subject.

"Eames was right about you." She said as she stepped out of the elevator.

"Excuse me? What was he right about?" Arthur followed her down the hall.

"He said you've always been _crummy_ about sharing your feelings." She smirked.

Arthur's mouth dropped open. After a moment he stammered, "It's not my strong suit."

"It's not that hard Arthur. I'll go first. I like you Arthur. I enjoy being around you. I'll admit it hurts like the dickens when you're mad at me and when you tell me our kisses are just distractions." Just talking about it made her heart ache. She crossed her arms and looked at him.

He didn't say anything.

She sighed and turned away. She started walking down the hallway blinking back tears.

_"Ariadne." He grabbed her arm and turned her around. "I like you too Ari." He smiled. "And I'm sorry I hurt you. Our kisses weren't just distractions. I just didn't want to admit to myself that I have feelings for you. Yes Dom told me to look after you, but the truth is I would have done it anyway." He stroked her cheek with his thumb._

She smiled. His touch left her skin feeling tingly. "Thank you Arthur." She hugged him. "For everything." She kissed his cheek.

"You're welcome." He hugged her.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought! And if you have any suggestions. Thanks! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_First of all... Thank you so, so much for all of the reviews. You guys are awesome!_

_Sorry this has taken so long. The chapter refused to cooperate and I got stuck... I think I'm happy with it now. So here goes..._

_Remember, I own nothing..._**

* * *

**

"Hi." Arthur knocked on the doorframe to Daphne's room.

"Hey Arthur." She looked up from her sketchbook. She saw Ariadne and smiled. "Hi Ariadne."

"Hi." Ariadne smiled.

"So what brings you two here to visit?" Daphne closed her sketchbook.

"We can't visit you?" Arthur asked as he and Ariadne sat down.

"Yes, you can. I just wondered why you were both here about a half an hour after Nick left." She crossed her arms.

"I didn't know he came to see you." Arthur said.

"He did. He has a black eye Arthur." She glared. "You punched him didn't you? Before you ask – he didn't tell me, and I didn't ask him."

"Yes I did. He told me what happened, and I lost my head." He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I just wanted to hear you say that." She smirked. "I remembered what happened. I told him what I remembered and he confirmed it."

"You remember how you got here?" Arthur asked.

"Oh yeah. That's the easy part. You brought me here. I could just never remember what happened before that. Now I do." She smiled. "Oh, and I remember my name."

"That's great! I'm so glad." Arthur hugged her.

"And I did smack him for kissing me in the dream." She smirked.

"I'm so proud of you." Arthur laughed.

Daphne laughed. "Can I talk to Ariadne for a few minutes?"

"Sure. I'll be back in a little bit." Arthur smiled.

"Thanks." Daphne said as Arthur closed the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" Ariadne asked.

"I'm fine. What's up with Arthur? Is he okay?" She seemed concerned.

"He said he didn't sleep much last night." Ariadne dodged the question.

"You know that's not what I meant. Arthur has been different since you've been around. He likes you doesn't he?" She smiled.

Ariadne blushed.

"I thought so." Daphne grinned. "And you like him too?"

"Yes." Ariadne grinned.

"Arthur seems happier. I'm glad he is. I know he has been worried about me and blames himself for what happened to me. Eventually he'll forgive himself. That's not all I wanted to talk to you about though." She pursed her lips. Something seemed to be bothering her. "You and Arthur work together right?"

"That's right."

"You know what happened to Dom and Mal don't you?" Her tone was serious.

"Yes, I do." Ariadne nodded.

"Then you understand my concern. I'm not saying the same thing is going to happen to you two. I really hope it doesn't. I just want you to be careful. I don't think I could bear to see Arthur as distraught as Dom has been. I don't know you very well Ariadne, but I don't want you to get hurt either. Please promise me you'll be careful."

"I will be. I've been thinking about what happened to Dom and Mal too. I like Arthur and I don't want the same thing to happen to us."

"Just take it slow, and don't make it a habit to dream together." Daphne smirked.

"I've only been in once. I wish I could go back in. The opportunities to create are endless." Ariadne mused.

"Yes they are. I miss it a little bit. I've been here for months, and only now do I realize what I have missed. It's weird to think about. I really don't remember much about being in limbo. I was alone for a long time. There were always projections to confuse me and it didn't take long for it to become my reality. I can't think about it too much because it boggles my mind. Now I understand how Mal lost herself." She bit her lip. Tears filled her eyes. "It was so horrible Ariadne. No matter how appealing the dream world is it can never compare to reality. For my sanity please promise me that you will be careful." Daphne blinked away the tears. Ariadne thought in some ways she still looked lost. She had seen it before in Dom.

"I promise." Ariadne smiled.

"And one more thing." Daphne said. "Break my brother's heart and I'll make you wish that you were lost in limbo." She smirked.

"Got it." Ariadne nodded.

"And if he breaks your heart I'll have Nick kick his butt." Daphne giggled.

Ariadne laughed. "So what about you and Nick?" She asked. Curiosity had finally gotten the best of her.

"What about me and Nick?" Daphne countered.

"Are the two of you together?"

"No. We flirted some, but it was mostly to irritate Arthur." She giggled. "Nick is a sweetheart when he wants to be. I never knew he cared for me until he kissed me in the dream. I guess it could have just been a 'distraction' as Arthur calls them, but Nick isn't like that. He doesn't just kiss anyone. He acts like he is all that and a bag of chips, but it's just that. – An act. So I knew when he kissed me that even though it was a dream, he meant it. I did smack him earlier, but I also asked him if he still cared for me." She blushed. _"Of course I care for you Love. I always have." He smiled. "Nick. Why didn't you tell me?" "I don't know. I didn't want to ruin things with Arthur. Then when Mal died… It didn't seem like the time. Then I lost you in limbo. Now you're back, and I never knew that you cared for me." "You are so dense." She popped the back of his head. "I know." He pouted._

"I'm going to guess that he does?" Ariadne grinned.

"Yes." Daphne grinned and bit her lip. "Tell me the same thing I just told you. That we need to be careful because of what happened to Dom and Mal."

"It doesn't mean it will happen to you though." Ariadne smiled.

"I know. I may never be allowed in the dream world again. Who knows how my subconscious will react, and God knows Arthur wouldn't let me anyway." She rolled her eyes.

"He means well." Ariadne grinned.

"Yes he does. I don't know what to do about Nick. I want to be with him, but Arthur would freak." She sighed.

"Arthur loves you and wants what's best for you. He will get over it." She smiled. "Eventually."

Daphne laughed. "You're right."

"Where did Nick go?"

"Back to his hotel to pack. He said something about research for another job. He didn't say where, and of course he didn't tell me when he would see me again." She rolled her eyes.

"Hello Darlings." Eames opened the door and stuck his head in. Arthur rolled his eyes and walked in.

"What are you doing here? You said you had to leave." Daphne was surprised to see him, but she was happy nonetheless.

"No, I said I had to pack. I didn't say I was leaving yet." He teased.

"Oh." She blushed.

"Tell them what you told me." Arthur smirked.

"Oh there really is no need Arthur." Eames was fidgety.

"Oh yes there is." Arthur was enjoying this.

"Fine. I told Arthur I needed his help on this job." He rolled his eyes.

Daphne giggled. "I know that had to be painful for you."

"Oh, you have NO idea Darling." He winked at her. "And Ariadne, they already have an architect or I would have asked you as well."

"That's alright." She said. It was a lie. It wasn't alright, but it had to be. Maybe one day she could enter dreams again.

"When do you leave?" Daphne asked.

"I'm flying out tonight. Arthur is leaving in the morning." Eames said.

"The hospital is going to discharge you this afternoon." Arthur said. "You can stay here in L.A. if you want to."

"I don't know what I want to do. I've been told what I'm doing for so long it's weird to be able to decide for myself. I think I want to go home Arthur." She smiled.

"Alright. If you're sure you're ready." He looked concerned.

"I'm sure, and since you and Nick are leaving Ariadne can come with me." She smiled at her. "Would you want to go to New York with me?"

"Sure, that would nice." Ariadne said. Anything was better than staying in L.A. alone.

"Perfect. See Arthur? I'll be fine." Daphne smiled.

"Well, this sounds lovely, but I need to be going. Arthur, I'll see you tomorrow. Ariadne, it's been a pleasure as always." Eames hugged her.

"Take care of yourself." Ariadne hugged him.

"Always. Do you not know me at all?" He grinned.

"I was going to say the same thing so that does that mean I don't know you either?" Daphne smirked.

"Ouch Darling. That hurts." Eames pouted.

"Arthur leave." Daphne glared at him.

"Why? What did I do?" Arthur was defensive.

"I want to talk to Nick. And I'm going to kiss him so if you don't want to see it you need to leave."

Arthur opened his mouth to protest, but Ariadne grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. "Let's go Arthur."

"But…"

"No. Let's go." She pulled him out of the room.

"Fine." He grumbled and crossed his arms. "So what were you two talking about?"

"She wanted to make sure you were okay. You are her first concern. Not Eames."

"Oh." He said quietly. "Is that all you talked about?" He seemed to think there was something else.

"She asked me if I knew about Dom and Mal." She said quietly. "She told me to be careful."

"You've thought about that too huh?" He squeezed her hand.

"I have. You have?" She seemed surprised. Not surprised that he had thought about it, but surprised that he thought she had and that he squeezed her hand.

"It keeps me awake at night. I like you Ari and I don't want the same thing to happen to us. Honestly I'm scared to let myself have feelings for you because of it." He rubbed his thumb across her fingers.

* * *

"Daphne. You know we can't be together." Eames sighed.

She loved how he said her name. "I know, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be."

"Darling, I would be with you in a heartbeat. I would give up this lifestyle, but… I can't right now." He touched her cheek.

"Because of Arthur." She mumbled.

"Yes, and because of what happened to Dom and Mal. You saw the downward spiral…"

"I know." She interrupted. "I'll never go back into that world. Ever. I don't know how my subconscious will react. I know Dom would tell me it's a bad idea, and Arthur would freak if he knew we were even having this conversation." She fought back tears.

He sighed and glanced at his watch. "Daphne, I have to go. I'm sorry Love." He hated to leave her, but he had to catch his flight.

She punched him in the stomach. She and Arthur shared a temper.

He doubled over. "What was that for?" He sputtered.

"For breaking my heart you son of a…" She began, but he interrupted her with a kiss. "Nick." She huffed and pushed him away. "Why can't you just let me be mad at you?"

"You know I don't like it when you are mad at me." He pouted.

"You know I can't stay mad at you." She fussed.

"It's a gift." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes, and hugged him. "Just promise me that one day we'll be able to be together." She whispered.

"I promise." He kissed her cheek.

* * *

"See you tomorrow Arthur Darling." Eames said. "Ta ta Ariadne." He winked at her.

"Bye Eames." She smiled.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to go." Daphne stuck her head out of her room."

"Then let's go." Arthur smiled. "Are you alright?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" She smiled.

* * *

"Thank you for letting me stay in your room Ariadne." Daphne smiled.

"I don't mind at all. I don't need two beds." Ariadne smiled.

"Arthur snores." Daphne giggled.

"I do not." Arthur called from his room.

"It's okay Arthur. What are you doing?"

"Booking your flight. You fly out at 9. I know neither of you are morning people, but this way you'll be home in time for dinner." He explained.

"What airport am I flying into? And if you say Newark I will hit you." Daphne sat down on the bed.

"No. I wouldn't do that to you. Again. You're flying into JFK." He smirked.

"Cool." She fell back on the bed.

"I didn't mean to send you to Newark the last time." He said.

"I know. Just don't send me on the taxi cab ride of death again." She sat up and gave him a strange look.

"Deal." He grinned.

"Do Mom and Dad know?"

"Not yet. Want to call them?" He held out his phone.

"Yeah." She took the phone and walked in his room.

"So I know you're miffed that Eames didn't invite you on this job." Arthur sat down next to Ariadne.

"Maybe a little bit." She shrugged.

"He said they already had someone, but he did think of you." Arthur smiled at her.

She didn't know what to say. She really didn't think about what would happen after the Fischer job. "Arthur, what do I do now?"

"Whatever you want. I figured I would be here until Daphne got better and then just relax for a while. I didn't plan on doing another job this soon. Nick said he needed my help. He wouldn't have asked unless he really needed it." He looked tired. Ariadne noticed that was the first time she had heard him call Eames by his first name.

"Well, good luck." She kissed his cheek.

"Ariadne, this isn't goodbye." He looked at her.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that." She stammered.

"I know you didn't. If I made it sound like it was I didn't mean it." He took a deep breath. "Ari, I don't want to say goodbye to you." He kissed her, pulling her down on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and she tangled her fingers in his hair. After a moment he pulled away and grinned at her. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were slightly swollen.

"Here is your phone Arthur." Daphne walked back in. "Am I interrupting something?" She smirked.

"We were just…" Arthur began.

"I see." She grinned. "I'm going to get my shower." She walked in the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Arthur rolled over and laughed.

"What?" Ariadne asked him.

"I feel like I just got busted by my mother." He leaned over and kissed her.

Ariadne giggled and scooted closer to him laying her head on his chest. "Arthur?" She asked quietly.

"Hm?" He asked absently as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"We don't make sense." She said.

He sighed. "I know we don't, but that's why I like you." He smiled. "You aren't my type, and I don't think I'm yours. Even though we don't make sense somehow we still work."

"What if we turn into Dom and Mal?" She asked.

"We won't. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure we don't. Even if it means I give up extraction and we lead 'normal' lives. Alright?" He whispered in her ear.

"Thank you Arthur." She hugged him.

"You're welcome. I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He stood up and walked to his room.

"Arthur?" She called.

"Yes?" He turned around.

"I don't want to say goodbye to you either." She smiled.

He grinned.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought._


	5. Chapter 5

_Okay... So I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update. I really don't have a good excuse, but thank you sooooooooo much for all the reviews! Y'all are awesome!_

__

_P.S. I don't own Inception..._

* * *

"Bye Arthur. I love you." Daphne hugged him.

"I love you too Daphne." He hugged her.

"And please be careful, and tell Nick to be careful too."

Arthur chuckled. "Alright. I will." He turned to Ariadne who was watching the departure boards. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

She giggled. "Arthur."

"I'll see you soon alright?" He whispered in her ear.

"Alright." She turned to face him. She hugged him. "Be careful."

"I will." He kissed her.

"Ari, they're about to start boarding. Let's go." Daphne said.

"Alright. Bye for now Arthur." She kissed him.

"Bye for now." He grinned.

* * *

"So just to warn you…" Daphne said. "We're supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight."

"Warning? Should I be concerned?" Ariadne asked.

"Has Arthur told you anything about them?"

"Not really. Only that they didn't know what really happened to you."

"Yeah. They were both really upset, but not upset enough to come see me apparently. Dad has always been distant. I think that's why Arthur is the way he is. Mom was closer to us than Dad, but we were never a _normal_ family. They were very strict and always expected a lot of us. I don't know how they would react if they knew the truth – That their children who were raised in luxury are now professional thieves who steal secrets from people's minds and destroy their lives." She swallowed hard. The truth seemed to bother her as well.

"But with Fischer…" Ariadne began.

"His life wasn't destroyed, but his father's company was. Remember that it was inception that ultimately destroyed Mal. What we do isn't nice. I've helped ruin lives of people who weren't necessarily innocent, but didn't deserve what we did. Arthur and Nick tell me that I shouldn't think of it that way. It's only business. Maybe I should treat every target as if he or she was a malicious criminal." She shrugged.

"I never thought of it that way." Ariadne said quietly. Daphne made it sound like the criminal act it was.

* * *

"Hi Mom." Daphne smiled.

"Daphne." Her mom hugged her. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I am too. This is my friend Ariadne." Daphne gestured to Ariadne.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Allison Livingston." She smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too." Ariadne said. Mrs. Livingston was dressed as if she was going to a dinner gala. From the look of the décor in the house Ariadne guessed she dressed that way all the time.

"The house looks nice Mom. Did you redecorate?" Daphne asked.

"I rearranged the furniture. I moved one piece at a time so your father wouldn't freak out. You know how he hates change." She chuckled.

"Yes, I know." Daphne looked at Ariadne and rolled her eyes.

"We're meeting your father for dinner in about an hour." She glanced at her watch.

"Alright. I think I'll go upstairs and change." Daphne headed to the staircase.

"I changed the sheets on your bed. I changed Arthur's too because I hoped he would come with you." She seemed disappointed.

"He had to work. I know he wanted to come." Daphne smiled. "Is the extra bed still in my room?"

"It is. I changed those sheets too."

"Thanks Mom." Daphne hugged her. "I'll show you my room Ariadne." Daphne walked up the stairs. "So if you didn't know, Arthur is three years younger than me. Mom never treated him like her baby, but he was. Do you have any siblings?"

"No. I'm an only child."

"Do you have a dress to wear tonight? If not you can borrow one of mine." Daphne asked.

Ariadne was glad she changed the subject. "I bought one when I was in L.A." She pulled the dress out of her suitcase. The dress was dark green with a modest neckline and short sleeved.

"Perfect." Daphne smiled.

* * *

"Daphne." Her dad smiled when he saw her.

"Hello Dad." Daphne smiled.

"It's good to see you." He hugged her.

"You too. This is my friend Ariadne."

He shook her hand. "Richard Livingston. It's nice to meet you." He smiled and sat down.

"Nice to meet you too Sir." She smiled.

Their dinner conversation was mostly polite chit chat. Mostly.

"Daphne, your mother and I are sorry that we weren't able to visit you when you were in the hospital." Her Dad said.

"Well, I know how busy your social schedule keeps you." Daphne said coolly.

"Daphne. It wasn't like that." He said.

"Dad you could have lied and told me that you came to see me right afterward. I don't remember the first couple of weeks in the hospital. I wouldn't have known that you weren't there." She fought back tears. She wasn't as close to her parents as she used to be, but it still hurt that their social schedule was more important.

Her dad cleared his throat. "Ariadne. Where are you from?"

"Sacramento." Ariadne smiled. She didn't like talking about her past.

"That's lovely country. What do your parents do?"

"My dad was an architect and my mom was an art teacher and very active with the arts commission." Ariadne smiled.

Daphne noted Ariadne's use of past tense.

"Excellent. What do you do?" He asked.

"I'm studying architecture in Paris. I have a few courses left." She poked at the remaining food on her plate.

"Paris is a long way from home. How do your parents feel about that?"

"They always pushed me to go after my dreams. My mom always told me that wishing never gets you anywhere. I'd like to think that they are watching over me and are proud of me and what I've accomplished. My dad died when I was 16. He had a brain tumor. One of the last things he was able to do was teach me how to drive. My mom died of breast cancer a couple months before I graduated from college. After I graduated I moved to Paris." She drank some of her water.

"I'm sorry Ariadne." He said. "I'm sure they would be very proud of you."

"Thank you." She smiled.

* * *

"Ari. I forgot to warn you that they also ask a lot of questions. I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Daphne felt horrible.

"It's alright. It's not your fault." Ariadne smiled. "It was hard for a while, but now I can enjoy the happy memories I have of them."

"Does Arthur know?" Daphne asked quietly.

"No. Unless he found it in the research when they recruited me." She said. "I don't like to talk about it."

"I can understand. Ariadne I am so sorry." Daphne hugged her. "Do you have any other family?"

"I have an aunt in Sacramento. She is dad's sister. I should have gone to see her when I was in L.A. There was just so much going on. I haven't talked to her since before I met Cobb. I need to call her." Ariadne rubbed her face.

"Ari if there is anything I can do…" Daphne said.

"Don't feel sorry me. I'm okay." Ariadne hugged her. "I do need a friend."

"Then you got it." Daphne hugged her.

* * *

"You wanna go into the city?" Daphne asked Ariadne.

"Sure. Sounds fun."

"Definitely. And we can take Arthur's car." She grinned. "But you have to swear you won't tell him. He is such a control freak." She giggled. "Oh I forgot. I haven't driven a manual shift in years." She frowned. "Can you?"

"It's been a couple years."

"Let's take the train. I don't want to introduce you to New York traffic if you aren't used to a manual shift."

"Good idea. I don't want to wreck it or grind out the gears." Ariadne cringed. "I don't think I could handle Arthur being mad at me."

"He wouldn't be able to stay mad at you." Daphne smirked.

Ariadne blushed.

"Uh huh." Daphne grinned.

* * *

"So what is your aversion to Newark?" Ariadne asked Daphne while they rode the train.

Daphne chuckled. "JFK is closer. Arthur and I were supposed to be on the same flight to JFK. The airline overbooked and I got bumped. Arthur offered to swap, but I told him I'd be fine. I was supposed to be on the next plane, but it got delayed and I sat in the airport for three hours. Then they sent me to Newark instead. I got into Newark at ten that night. I had to take a taxi and the driver was trying to beat his best time. I didn't speak to Arthur until the next evening. It wasn't his fault, but I needed to be mad at someone." She rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Daphne?" Someone called.

Daphne cringed. "Oh great."

"What?" Ariadne asked.

"It's Icky Vickie." Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Who?" Ariadne asked.

"She's a friend of mine…and Arthur's ex-girlfriend." She muttered the last part. "Hey Vickie." She said as Vickie walked up.

"Oh my gosh. Daphne you're okay." Vickie hugged her. "Your parents told me what happened. That's horrible."

"Yeah. Losing your memory isn't fun. At least I don't remember the attack. If you came to visit me I don't remember a lot from my hospital stay." Daphne said knowing full well that Vickie didn't visit.

"Oh, um I didn't visit. I'm sorry." Vickie cringed. "I'm glad you're okay though. How's Arthur?"

"Oh he's fine. You know Arthur." She grinned. She was going to have some fun with this.

"Has he changed his number?"

"I don't think he did. Of course I don't know if he still has his phone." Daphne looked at Ariadne. "Does he still have his phone?"

"He called me when we were in L.A." Ariadne said. This was awkward.

"Then apparently he does." Daphne said.

"Who are you?" Vickie asked Ariadne.

"Oh this is Ariadne. She's Arthur's girlfriend." Daphne grinned.

Ariadne blushed.

"Oh." Vickie said. "Uh, it's nice to meet you."

"You too." Ariadne smiled.

"I have to go. See you later." Vickie said and walked away.

"I can't believe you did that." Ariadne said.

"You basically are though." Daphne grinned. "Just think if Nick was here what he would have said."

"Oh gosh." Ariadne blushed just thinking about what he might have said.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought. Any ideas for the next chapter?_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks again for your reviews and messages!_

_I own nothing..._

* * *

"Hello Mother." Arthur smiled and kissed his mother's cheek.

"Arthur!" She hugged him. "You are home! How are you?" She was thrilled to see him.

"I'm fine. How are Daphne and Ariadne?" He hoped they had all been getting along.

"They are both doing well. Ariadne is a nice girl Arthur." She liked Ariadne and wanted them to be a couple.

"Yes she is." He smiled and blushed. _"Surely she hasn't said anything."_

"Of course she hasn't said anything, but a mother can dream right?" She winked at him.

He opened his mouth, but closed it and shook his head.

His mother chuckled.

"Mother, this is Nick." He pointed to Eames. "He's a friend and coworker. He's also friends with Daphne."

"It's nice to meet you Nick." She shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am." He shook her hand.

"The girls went early to the dinner party at the country club. You're both welcome to join us." She said, hoping he would.

"Of course we will join you." Arthur smiled.

"I'm so glad you came home." She hugged him. "Even if it's only to see Ariadne." She kissed his cheek.

"Mother!" He blushed. Not ten minutes and she was embarrassing him. She was enjoying this.

Eames chuckled.

"Bring your bags in and we'll go. Your father will call me if I am late." She rolled her eyes.

* * *

Arthur snuck up behind Daphne and hugged her.

"Arthur!" She was surprised to see him.

"Hey Daphne." He thought she looked like she was glad to be home.

"Ari is over there talking to Dad." She pointed. "They love her." She grinned.

"I'm glad. I brought someone with me." He kissed her forehead.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Arthur winked and walked over to his father and Ariadne.

"'Ello Love." Nick grinned.

"Oh it's you." She rolled her eyes and pretended to be annoyed.

"Yes it's me." He pretended to be hurt. She was obviously still mad at him.

"I suppose it's good to see you." She sighed.

"You suppose?" He raised an eyebrow. Maybe she wasn't mad.

"Yes." She said.

"What if I kissed you?"

"I might punch you, and it would cause a scene. My parents hate scenes." She sipped her drink and smirked at him.

"Would it help if I said I missed you?" He pouted.

"It's good to see you Nick." She hugged him.

"It's good to see you too Daphne."

* * *

"Arthur!" His dad smiled.

"Dad." He smiled and shook his father's hand.

"How are you Arthur? You look well."

"I'm doing well. Hello Ariadne." He hugged her.

"Hello Arthur." She smiled and hugged him.

"I dragged Nick here." He gestured to where Eames and Daphne were standing.

"I'll have to go say hello. It was good talking to you Mr. Livingston."

"You too Ariadne." He smiled as she walked away. "She's a brilliant young woman Arthur, and beautiful."

"She is, isn't she?" He marveled. "I've never met anyone like her before."

"Don't let her get away." His dad looked serious.

"I won't."

* * *

"Oh Ari, you should tell Arthur." Daphne said seriously.

"About what?" Arthur asked.

"About the person we saw or the car?" Ariadne asked as she walked to get a drink.

"Who did you see? What car? Mine?" His voice got higher.

"We saw Icky Vickie Arthur." Daphne grinned.

"Who is that?" Eames asked.

"My ex." Arthur mumbled.

"Oh really? Is she here?" Eames had a mischievous look on his face. He was obviously up to no good.

"She _is_ here Nick." Daphne enjoyed egging him on.

"Oh I'm doomed." He was trying to think of a way to escape.

"Yes. You are." Daphne said. "Especially since she is walking this way."

"Great." Arthur mumbled.

"Oh, and I introduced Ari the other day and told Vickie she was your girlfriend. Good luck." Daphne smiled. "Nick, you need to meet my father." She pulled him away before either could protest.

"Arthur!" Vickie smiled.

"Hey Vick." He hugged her. "You look great."

"Thanks Arthur." She grinned. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing well. You?" He tried to at least sound more civil than he felt like being.

"I can't complain." She smiled. It was just as awkward for her as it was for him.

"Here Arthur." Ariadne walked up and handed Arthur a drink. "Thanks." He smiled and reached for her hand. "Vickie have you met Ariadne my girlfriend?"

"Yes, Daphne introduced us the other day. I'm sorry for the way I reacted Ariadne, I thought Daphne was making it up."

"No she wasn't." Arthur smiled and squeezed Ariadne's hand.

"It was good to see you Arthur. Ariadne, be good to him." She smiled and walked away.

"I missed you Ari." Arthur whispered in her ear.

She giggled slightly. His breath tickled her ear. "I missed you too."

* * *

Later that night Ariadne walked past Arthur's room to say goodnight. "Arthur?" She called.

"I'm out here." He stuck his head in the window. "Come on out."

"You're sitting on the roof?" She walked in his room.

"Yes. The sky is clear tonight." Stargazing was one of his favorite activities as a child. His mother would have a fit if she knew he was out on the roof. Again.

She stepped on the bed and crawled out of the window. "Oh hi Nick." She saw Eames sitting on the other side of Arthur.

"Hi Ari." Eames smiled.

"Is Daphne still not talking to you?" She sat down beside Arthur.

"Not really." He shrugged like it didn't bother him, but she knew it did.

"I'm sorry." She offered, but she knew it wouldn't help him feel better.

"No worries." He winked at her.

Arthur wrapped his arm around her.

"Ari?" Daphne called.

"I'm out here with Arthur." She called.

"Oh hi." Daphne stuck her head out. "Is Nick out here too?"

"Yes, I am." He mumbled. He didn't understand why she was sending him mixed signals except that maybe it was because he had sent his fair share to her.

"Do you mind if I come out?" She was halfway out the window.

"Nope. Come on." Arthur said. "You can sit between Nick and me." He grinned.

"You are cruel Arthur Livingston." She glared.

"You wound me." Eames said.

"Oh please." Daphne rolled her eyes and sat down between the two men.

Eames looked surprised when Daphne snuggled up to him. "I thought you were still mad at me Darling."

"You know I can't stay mad at you." She kissed his cheek.

He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. He wanted to be with her, but he wasn't sure how he could make it work. He had finally told Arthur on their flight back.

"_I, I'm in love with her." He stammered._

"_And? What's new?" Arthur sounded bored._

"_You know?" He was surprised._

"_Of course I know. You are the only other person who went to visit her. Of course, of all the people in the world who could fall in love with my sister it had to be you." Arthur smirked. "You make her happy. Don't make me kill you."_

"_Deal." He was slightly relieved that Arthur approved and nervous at the latest threat, but mostly worried about hurting Daphne. "Arthur, I don't know if it will work between us." He knew if it didn't that Daphne would be devastated. He would be too._

"_Ari told me that we don't make sense." He began._

"_You don't." Eames interrupted. He couldn't help, but throw a jab in at Arthur and ruffle his feathers._

"_I know that." He narrowed his eyes. "But somehow we still work because we don't make sense. God knows that you and Daphne make no sense whatsoever." He folded the paper he knew he would never finish reading. "You should tell her that you love her. I'm sure she feels the same. Although I don't know why." He rolled his eyes._

"_Alright. I'll tell her when we get to New York." Eames loved a challenge. "But, you have to tell Ariadne that you are positively smitten with her."_

"_Deal." They shook hands._

"Weren't you two ladies supposed to tell me about my car?" Arthur's voice broke through Eames' thoughts.

"What about your car?" Daphne played innocent.

"You said Ari should tell me about my car."

Ariadne looked nervous. "Oh gosh. Arthur, maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning. You should get some sleep first." Her voice was serious.

"That's it. We're going to see it now." He seemed irritated.

"Well, okay." Ariadne said nervously. She carefully crawled back in the window. He crawled back in after she did. They walked downstairs to the garage.

"Well?" He asked as he flipped the light on. "It looks like it's in one piece." He turned to her and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, it's one piece. Nothing is wrong." She pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Then why the big act?"

"Well, we went out the other day and I had never driven a Ferrari before so Daphne told me I could. But then she said not to tell you 'cause you would freak." She explained.

"Uh Ari, I'm kind of freaking right now." He let her think he was freaking about the car. She turned him into a bundle of nerves. It couldn't be that hard to tell a girl you loved her right?

"Arthur. Your car is fine. There is no need to freak out." She touched his cheek.

"Ari." He held her face in his hands. "I love you." He kissed her softly.

"I. love. you. too." She murmured between kisses.

* * *

"The two of you are so mean to make him squirm like that." Eames teased Daphne.

"As if _you_ have never done anything to make him squirm." She poked him.

"True." He agreed.

"Do you think he told her?"

"I think so." He kissed her head. "Daphne?"

"Yeah Nick?" She looked up at him.

"I love you Darling." He stroked her cheek.

"I love you too Nick." She hugged him. "Although it took you long enough to tell me." She teased.

"It isn't like you told me." He grinned.

"Touché." She kissed him.

* * *

_Let me know what you thought. Feedback and comments are always welcome! Thanks! :) _


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks for all of the reviews! They make me smile! :)_

_Remember, I don't own Inception. But I do own Daphne..._

* * *

"Were you all sitting out on the roof last night? Arthur Livingston you know how I feel about that." His mother fussed at him.

"Yes Mother. I know." _"Busted!"_ He wanted to roll his eyes, but thought better of it.

"One of these days someone is going to fall and get killed!" Her voice got higher with each word. She was spazzing.

"Calm down Mother. Please?" He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Just promise me you won't go out on the roof anymore. I can't bear to see you hurt again." Her face was laced with worry. "You're my baby and I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll try." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

She seemed satisfied with his answer. "I'll see you later Arthur." She picked up her Prada bag.

"Bye Mother." He rolled his eyes as she walked out the door.

"Again?" Ariadne asked as she walked up to him. Her feet were freezing on the tile floor.

"Yeah, I used to crawl out the window all of the time. One night I fell asleep and fell off the roof. Dad found me in the yard the next morning when he walked out to get the paper." He shook his head. His parents shrieking echoed in his head.

"Oh gosh Arthur! Did you break anything?" Her reaction reminded him of his mother.

"I got a concussion. I broke my right ankle and arm. Hurt like the dickens." He winced remembering the pain.

"How old where you?" She chuckled.

"Sixteen I think." He poured two cups of coffee, and handed the 'frilly' looking one to Ariadne.

"No, you were fifteen." Daphne walked in. "It happened my senior year." She picked up the almost empty coffee pot. "Really Arthur?" She flicked his ear.

"Ow!" He rubbed his ear glaring at her.

"Ari he was the biggest baby." She giggled and snorted.

Arthur blushed.

"And it didn't help that Mom and Dad waited on him hand and foot." She opened the cabinet looking for the coffee. "Ah ha!" She pulled the can out and started another pot. "I could do nothing right, but Arthur on the other could do nothing wrong." She half tossed the can of coffee into the cabinet. It tipped over and spilling coffee grounds all over the counter. She swore under her breath grabbing a towel to scoop up the grounds.

"Daph." Arthur wrapped his arms around her. "Sissy I love you." He kissed her forehead. "You know I wasn't always the favorite. They blamed me for what happened to you. If you had not woken up or if you had died…" His voice cracked. The thought of possibly losing Daphne was overwhelming. Tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't keep you safe."

Ariadne felt extremely out of place. It seemed like a conversation that needed to be had between siblings – a conversation that she should not be a part of. She backed slowly out of the kitchen. She stepped from the cold tile floor onto the warm hardwood floor. She shivered.

"Are you alright Love?" Eames was sitting on the leather sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

She nodded.

"Where are Daphne and Arthur?" He was turning his phone over in his hands.

"In the kitchen talking." She sank into the sofa beside him.

"So not a conversation you wanted to be a part of?"

"I didn't need to be a part of it." Her eyes were sad.

"Their relationship has always been perfect on the outside, but on the inside… Yikes." He made a face.

"I think it just bubbled over." She let out a deep breath.

"Well then we'd best stay out of the way." He stretched his arms.

Ariadne smiled when she saw Daphne walk out of the kitchen. Nick didn't see her sneak up behind him. Daphne motioned for her to join Arthur in the kitchen.

"Stay out of the way of what?" Daphne leaned over the sofa and whispered in his ear. Her dark hair floated around her face.

"You and Arthur." He tilted his head back so he could look at her. "Darling you are upside down." He batted his eyes at her. He thought she looked just as beautiful upside down as she did right side up.

"You are not supposed to prop your feet up on the coffee table." She leaned over a little more so she could kiss him. Her nose brushed against the stubble on his chin. She giggled.

He felt like he was flying. Butterflies filled his stomach. He was in love. Nicholas Eames did not fall in love. More importantly he did not fall in love with coworker's sisters. And yet, here he was – sitting on her sofa, cradled in her arms. Not only had he fallen for her, but she had fallen for him. He wondered if she would still love him if she knew everything about him.

"Nick? What's wrong?"She ruffled his hair. He didn't like it when she did, but he was a better sport than Arthur.

"Nothing is wrong Darling." He craned his neck so he could look at her face. He knew she didn't buy that answer.

"Oh really? You are as tense as if you were expecting someone to come bursting through the front door waving a gun."

"Darling you are being overdramatic. Nothing is wrong."

"You are only this tense when something is bothering you. Please tell me." She pouted and kissed him softly.

He melted. "Promise you'll never perform extraction on me?"

She laughed. "Are you afraid of what I might find?"

"Precisely Love."

"Darling. You have to remember that Arthur is never going to let me anywhere near the PASIV again. Your secrets are safe from me." She giggled, but wondered what his secrets were and if she really wanted to know them.

"Ah yes, I forgot about that. That's probably for the best anyway. Your subconscious can do crazy things after you've been in limbo." He relaxed a little in her arms.

"So I've heard." She was tired of people telling her what her subconscious would do. She wanted to find out for herself. "Maybe I will ignore Arthur and go in the next chance I get."

He sat up and turned to face her. "Darling please don't." He was scared that she would.

"Are you scared that I will discover your secrets?"

"I'm scared that I might lose you again. I can't bear to lose you, and of course Arthur would kill me."

"I want to find out for myself if my subconscious will act up. If I don't, I'll wonder for the rest of my life." She blinked back tears. This wasn't fair. She was being treated like a porcelain doll.

"Please don't be stubborn like Arthur." He pleaded with her.

"You know I am."

* * *

"Hey. Are you alright?" Ariadne shivered as she stepped onto the tile floor. She really needed to wear shoes in the house.

"I am actually." His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were still damp from the tears.

"You don't look alright." She cupped his cheek in her hand.

"Ari. I am alright. I promise. I know I don't look it, but I am. I feel a lot better after talking to Daphne." He sobbed and sucked in a breath. "I guess it's better to talk it out. She told me she is going back in the first chance she gets. She wants to see for herself how her subconscious will react. My guess is she is telling Nick now."

"She's stubborn like you are."

"I am not stubborn." He protested.

"Yes you are." She kissed him.

He smirked and wrapped his arms around her. He was about to deepen the kiss when Daphne walked in.

"Arthur Livingston. I swear the two of you are just alike."

"Excuse me?" He turned to look at her, but kept his arms around Ariadne.

"You and Nick are just alike." She knew that would get under his skin. "You are both treating me like I'm some porcelain doll or something. Stop it."

"There is something you should see." Arthur walked out of the kitchen. He went to his room looking for the disc. Yusuf had recorded Daphne right after Cobb pulled her out of limbo. He finally found it and walked downstairs. He knew she needed to see it, but he wasn't sure he was ready to see it again.

"What is it I need to see Arthur?" She was concerned, sitting on the sofa with her arms and legs crossed.

"This." He put the disc in her laptop and handed it to her. Eames shot him a look and he nodded. "Just click play." He sat down beside her. Ariadne curled up beside him. Eames sighed and sat next to Daphne putting his arm around her.

She clicked the mouse and started the video.

_Daphne shot up in her chair screaming and clawing at the needle in her arm._

"_You're awake!" Arthur hugged her._

"_Arthur, give her time." Cobb's voice was cautious._

"_Where am I?"Daphne looked scared. "I don't know where I am." She started crying._

_Cobb's eyes got wide. "This isn't good." He muttered._

"_What happened to me? Why. Why was I alone for so long?" She pulled her knees up to her chest __rocking back and forth in her seat_.

_Cobb sat beside her. "You were in a dream and you died." He explained cautiously. "You fell into limbo. Do you remember how long you were there?"_

"_No. I just know it was a long time. It felt like forever."_

"_But you are awake now. You are going to be alright."_

"_Am I? This feels like a dream. Where is it?" She felt her pockets and pulled a piece of paper out. "It's not blank." She looked confused._

Daphne pulled her totem out of her pocket. The hot pink piece of paper had an intricate maze drawn on it. "It wasn't blank." She whispered.

"_Is it supposed to be blank?" Eames asked her._

"_I don't know. Why don't I know?"_

"_Eventually you will remember everything." Arthur said._

"_Don't lie to me." She looked serious._

"_I'm not." He had tears in his eyes._

"_I'm sorry. I just don't remember anything and I can't imagine having my memory back." She stood up and lost her balance._

___Arthur didn't catch her in time and she collapsed in a heap on the floor_. "Take it easy. You've been asleep for a while." He carefully helped her up.

_She nodded. "I don't want to go back in there ever again, and if I change my mind please stop me. Please? Promise me."_

"_I promise." Arthur hugged her._

The video ended. Ariadne was crying. Arthur kissed her cheek.

"I don't remember any of that." Daphne was crying also.

"We didn't think you would. Yusuf wanted to film it for research, or something." Arthur hugged her.

"I still want to go back. Even though I said I didn't."

"You told us to stop you Darling." Eames kissed her head.

"I know I did, but…" She shook her head. "I. I want to see Dom."

"He is going to agree with us." Arthur said.

"I know, but I still want to see him."

* * *

Arthur walked out onto the deck where Ariadne had been on the phone. "Who were you talking to?" He hugged her and looked out at the sunset.

"My aunt in Sacramento. I meant to call her when I was in L.A. but I forgot. I haven't seen her since before I moved to Paris."

"That's a long time. Do you talk to her often?"

"I haven't in a few months. Before that we talked at least once a month. Sometimes more. I really miss her." She tried to smile, but it hurt. Her aunt was the only family she had left and Arthur didn't know it. She didn't know how to tell him.

"Fly to Sacramento and see her. And if you don't I'll put you on a plane myself and make sure you fly there." His smile gave her butterflies.

She launched herself into his arms. He picked her up and spun her around. "I love you." She ran her fingers through his hair.

"I love you too." He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He couldn't help but pull her lips to his and kiss her.

She pulled away blushing. "Is Daphne alright?"

"I think so. She and Nick are sitting on the roof so I am sure they are both fine." He laughed and kissed her.

* * *

_So let me know what you thought. :) And I guess they are going to see Cobb at some point soon. Any other idea or suggestions? Thanks for reading! :)_


	8. Chapter 8

__

I decided to make this chapter longer since it took so long to get going on it. Thanks for all of the reviews and PMs. Y'all are awesome!

_P.S. I don't own Inception. But I do own my computer._

* * *

"I talked to Dom." Arthur walked in the living room.

Daphne was curled up in Eames' lap. Arthur rolled his eyes. Ariadne laughed at him.

"What did he say Darling?" Eames didn't care what Dom said it just seemed to be the appropriate thing to say.

"He said he wasn't going anywhere so anytime we wanted to visit would be fine." Arthur sat down beside Ariadne resting his head against her shoulder. "I booked us all a flight to L.A. Ari if you want to go to Sacramento you can." He smiled at her.

"What's in Sacramento?" Eames suddenly seemed more interested.

"My aunt. I'll visit Dom and then I'll go see her." She smiled.

"Ah." Eames seemed indifferent again.

"You are acting like a teenage girl Eames." Ariadne fussed at him. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me. I'm just hungry."

"You are always hungry." Arthur shot back.

Eames shrugged and stood up.

* * *

"Ari, there's something I need to tell you." Arthur said. They were sitting outside at the restaurant eating lunch.

Eames shot him a look. Arthur rolled his eyes. He didn't care that Eames didn't want him to tell Ariadne. He wanted to tell her because he hated keeping things from her and he didn't want to lie to her. He was certain she was going to be mad at him. Eames would be mad at him for telling her, but he didn't care what Eames thought.

"My phone is ringing. Hold on a sec okay?" Ariadne asked.

"This is really important." He protested.

"It's my friend Ellie. Hold on a sec Arthur." She smiled as she answered the phone. "Hey Ellie."

"Hey Ari. Can you talk?" She sounded upset.

"Yeah sure. What's up?"

"Um, have you seen the newspaper?" Her voice was shaking.

"No, I'm still in New York." She wondered what was going on.

"Oh. Um, it's probably in any paper. It's big news." She let out a sob.

"Any paper?" She glanced around and saw one folded on an empty table. She motioned for Arthur to give it to her. He seemed hesitant. "What's going on Ellie?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yes. What's wrong?" Now Ariadne was really worried.

"It's Jack's dad. He, he had all of these _secrets_ that Jack and I didn't know about. It's going to destroy his company." Ellie sobbed. "I don't know what to do Ari."

"Everything will be alright. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding." She tried to calm Ellie down. Surely it was just a misunderstanding. She snapped her fingers at Arthur and he finally handed her the paper. She covered her mouth and let the paper fall to the table when she saw the headline: _'WALTERS' COMPANY IN SHAMBLES AS STOCK CRUMBLES!'_

"No it's not Ari! Jack confronted his Dad. He admitted everything. He stole from people. He hurt a lot of people Ari. He said he couldn't live with what he had done. He shot himself." Ellie blurted.

"No!" Ariadne gasped. She couldn't believe that what Ellie was saying was true. This wasn't the man she knew. The man she knew would never have cheated, lied, or stole. The man who was like a father to her would never have shot himself.

"Jack left. I don't know where he went. He was freaking out and now I'm freaking out because he's gone." She sobbed. "His dad is still alive, but he's in ICU and they're trying to save him. I, I don't know what to do."

Ariadne didn't know what to say. She stared at her food. She knew the others were staring at her, but she didn't care. She knew how those secrets got out. The thought made her sick.

"Ari?" Ellie asked.

"I'll be in L.A. as soon as I can. Everything will be fine." Ariadne tried to sound certain.

"Thanks Ari." Ellie smiled. It was what she needed to hear.

Ariadne hung up the phone.

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked knowing that she wasn't.

"No I'm not. I have to get back to L.A." She fought back tears.

"Why? What's wrong?" Daphne was worried.

"I can't talk about it right now." She fumbled through her purse looking for her totem. Surely this couldn't be real. She felt the cool surface of the bishop. "I have to go." She stood up.

"Ari wait." Arthur grabbed her arm. "You are in no shape to be going off by yourself."

"I'm glad you've decided to show some concern for me Arthur." She snapped jerking her arm away.

Arthur was shocked by her reaction. "What, what are you talking about?" He stammered.

"That was my friend Ellie. Her husband Jack has disappeared and this is his dad's company." She threw the newspaper at Arthur. "She said her father-in-law had all of these _secrets_ that they never knew about. He shot himself this morning." She collapsed in her chair and started sobbing.

"Oh gosh Ari." Daphne hugged her.

"I know that's what this job of yours was about." She wanted to look at Arthur and Eames so that they could see the devastation in her eyes, but she was too disgusted. "Don't lie to me again." She muttered bitterly.

"Ari, we couldn't tell you. Your name popped up in the research that your families were close. We had no choice." Eames said.

"No Nick!" Her head shot up. "You had a choice. You didn't have to take away the only father I had left." She wanted to stop crying, but she couldn't. The thought of losing another family member was too much to bear.

"Ari…" Arthur began.

Daphne changed the subject. "Ari I'll drive you back to the house. Go wait in the car. I'll be right there."

Ari nodded and walked to the car. She didn't have the strength to fight with Arthur and Eames. A part of her felt horrible for snapping at Arthur. How could they do that to her?

"What you two don't know about Ariadne, or at least I don't think you know. She told us the day we got to New York. Her dad died when she was 16. She spent her summers with Jack and Ellie at his Dad's place in L.A. Jack's parents had divorced when he was younger. Ariadne's mom died of cancer just a few months before she graduated from college. After college she moved to Paris to study architecture. If you had dug a little deeper in your research you would have known that. I can't believe you two did this to her." Daphne stood up and walked to the car.

They watched her walk away both knowing it was useless to protest. Arthur felt too sick to say anything. She was going to hate him and he deserved it for what he did.

"Well, well. Daphne's moral compass has finally come back to bite us." Eames crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He was as nonchalant as always.

"Oh shut up." Arthur glared. He would rather Eames be serious for once. "You told me the families were close so I didn't see a need to dig further. She's going to hate me forever."

"Who? Ariadne or Daphne?"

"Probably both of them." Arthur sighed. He should have known better than to take Eames' word for it. He should have dug deeper.

"That's why I didn't want you to tell her."

"It would have gone over better coming from me."

"Perhaps." Eames shrugged.

* * *

"Ari, I'm so sorry." Daphne got in the car. "What are you doing?" Ariadne was turning the bishop in her hands. "Do you think you are dreaming?"

"No. I just… I wished that I was." Her stomach was in knots and her heart ached. "Did you know?"

"No. I didn't. I would have stopped them, or at the very least warned you." She put the car in drive. "They rode with us didn't they?" She smirked.

"Yeah they did." Ariadne chuckled. For some reason that was really funny to her.

"I'll tell them to take a cab." Daphne pulled out her phone.

"They can ride, but I don't want to talk to them."

"Are you sure?"

Ariadne nodded.

"Are you two going to ride with us or not?" She asked Arthur.

"We decided to take a cab. We'll see you at the house."

"Alrighty." She put her phone away. "They took a cab."

"Do you think that was what Arthur was going to tell me? About the job I mean." She stared out the window.

"I don't know. Maybe. You know you will have to talk to him." Daphne glanced at her.

"I know." Ariadne bit her lip. She didn't want to talk to Arthur, but she knew she would have to.

* * *

Ariadne didn't know how, but somehow Daphne had conned her into sitting next to Arthur on the plane. Great. She was going to be sitting next to Arthur for the next six hours. She had called Ellie before they boarded and told her she was on her way. Ellie still hadn't heard from Jack, and his dad was still in surgery. Ariadne had finally stopped crying, but now she had started again. She looked over at Arthur. He was looking out the plane window. She reached over and touched his hand. He squeezed her hand and turned to face her. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

"I'm still mad that you kept this from me." She sputtered. "But I need you right now."

He nodded and slipped his arm around her pulling her close to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and fell asleep.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Daphne asked Ariadne for the tenth time.

"I'll be fine." Ariadne hugged her.

"Okay. I'll get your luggage. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thank Daphne." She smiled.

"Have you talked to Arthur?"

"No. I need to go to the hospital first. He should be out of surgery by now."

"Alright. Be careful." Daphne waved as Ariadne walked away. She turned and glared at Arthur and Eames who were pulling the suitcases off of the luggage belt.

"Arthur." Daphne used _that_ tone. Arthur knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"I should talk to her." He mumbled and walked after her.

"Ari!" He called as he tried to catch up with her.

She stopped walking when she heard his voice. She turned around to look for him. It was a challenge with people bumping into her from all sides.

"Ari. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He hugged her and leaned his forehead against hers. "I didn't know. I…"

She kissed him. "Arthur. I want to say that it's okay, but it's not right now. My mind is still reeling. I need time to sort this out."

"I understand." He tried to smile, but his heart was breaking. Why did he ever agree to help Eames? He never meant to hurt her.

"I still love you Arthur. That hasn't changed. And… it won't change." She hugged him and fought back tears.

"I love you too." He smiled as she walked away.

* * *

"Ellie!" Ariadne started running down the hospital hallway.

"Ari! You're here!" Ellie threw her arms around Ariadne and started crying.

"Have you talked to Jack?" She wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, he's in his dad's room. He got out of surgery an hour or two ago." Ellie sat down in one of the chairs in the hallway.

"How is he?"

Ellie didn't know if Ariadne meant Jack or his dad. It didn't really make a difference. They were both doing the same and they weren't doing well. "Not well. Dad might pull through. Jack is a wreck. And I don't know even know how I am." She bent over and sobbed into her hands. "I don't know what to do Ari."

Ariadne hugged her. "I don't know what to do either." She whispered.

"Hey Lady." Jack hugged her.

"Jack." Ariadne tried to smile, but couldn't while trying to fight back tears at the same time. She hugged him. "How's he doing?"

"He's not out of the woods yet. And even if he recovers…" He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "He told me he had this dream and there were men he had never seen before and they found all of his secrets. He said that one of them was named Arthur." He looked at her and saw the surprise in her eyes. "He described him and the description matches your friend Arthur." Jack squeezed his lips together. "Did you have a part in this?" He looked angry, but his voice revealed something else. Betrayal.

"Jack. I swear I didn't know." She started crying.

"Ari. My world is crumbling, and the last thing I need right now is to know that one of my best friends was in on it."

* * *

"Daphne!" Dom grinned when he saw her. "It's good to see you all back together."

"It's good to see you too Dom." She hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I'm sorry I didn't come to see you. I just… I don't have a good excuse."

"I'm glad you are all back together too." She kissed his cheek.

Eames rolled his eyes. He had never understood the relationship between Daphne and Dom. If they even had a relationship and if it had ever been anything more than friends. That thought didn't sit well with him.

"How are Phillipa and James?" She wondered why she hadn't seen them yet.

"They're great. You won't believe how much they've grown."

"Are they here?" She glanced around the house. It was quiet.

"They're at their grandmother's. You can go see them."

"I think I will. And Arthur and Nick can tell you about Ariadne." She winked at Eames.

"Wait. Where _is_ Ariadne?"Dom asked as if he just realized that she was supposed to be with them, but wasn't.

"Arthur and Nick can explain. They pulled a doozy. They'll be lucky if she ever speaks to them again." Daphne walked out of the house and next door to see Phillipa and James.

"Well?" Dom crossed his arms. "Where is she?"

"It's a funny story." Eames plopped down on the couch annoyed at Dom for whatever he and Daphne ever had. He shouldn't have been annoyed. There was never anything more than friendship between them.

"It's anything BUT funny. You moron." Arthur glared at him. Daphne was wrong about one thing. At least Ariadne was still talking to him, and even though she was still mad at him she still loved him. He hoped that she meant it.

"So what did you two do?" Dom sat in the chair across from them.

"Well, you see Dom. There was this job. Some, eh, _acquaintances_ of mine _asked_ me to help them." Eames began.

"And he asked me for his help. I knew he wouldn't ask if he didn't really need it." Arthur continued.

"How does this concern Ariadne. Was she the architect?" Dom raised an eyebrow. He didn't like where this was going.

"Not at all. I had told Daphne that we couldn't be together because of work."

"I fail to see how this is even remotely relevant." Arthur rolled his eyes in boredom.

"It's relevant if you will shut up and let me finish." Eames glared.

Dom rolled his eyes. He had _not_ missed their childish behavior. "You were saying Nick?"

"I owed some favors to these _acquaintances_ and I couldn't quit until I repaid them. So this job would get me back in their good graces and out of their debt."

"And you knew it involved Ari and you didn't say anything." Arthur was getting angry.

"I couldn't say anything. That's why I waited to tell you."

"So will you tell me what happened to Ariadne?" Dom was getting impatient.

"The job was an extraction. We were hired to extract information from Patrick Walters."

"This Patrick Walters?" Dom asked incredulously holding up the paper.

"Yes." Eames and Arthur groaned at the same time.

"That is a doozy. You brought down one of the most brilliant financial minds in the world."

"You say that like you underestimate our abilities." Arthur said dryly.

"No. I say that because you didn't get torn to shreds by his subconscious. The man had been trained." Cobb chuckled.

"Who trained him?" Arthur asked.

"Mal. I can't believe the two of you survived. I've always known you were good, but I didn't realize you were _that_ good." He shook his head.

"The research didn't say anything about training. Just like Fischer's didn't. It did say that his family and Ariadne's family were close. I left it alone after that. I shouldn't have, but I did. Daphne gave me an earful about it. Ariadne's dad died when she was sixteen and her mom died right before she graduated from college. Patrick was a second father to her."

"Oh gosh." Dom muttered.

"And he shot himself this morning. Ariadne is at the hospital with his family."

* * *

"Hey Dad?" Jack whispered as he and Ariadne walked into the hospital room.

"Hmm?" He stirred.

"You have a visitor." He squeezed Ariadne's hand.

"I don't want any visitors." He muttered.

"What about me Pop?" Ariadne smiled. 'Pop' was what she had always called him. For sixteen years she had a dad. Then he was gone. Pop had told her she could treat him like a second dad, but she couldn't call him 'dad'. It hurt too much.

"Ariadne." He whispered. "It's good to see you." He reached for her hand. "Tell me." He sighed. "Do you think less of me for all of this?"

"No. I couldn't if I wanted to." She blinked back tears.

"Thank you Ari. I'm very sorry my dear."

"Please don't die. I can't lose the only parent I have left."

"I will do my best." He fell asleep.

"Come on." Jack whispered as he guided her back to the hallway.

"I'm sorry." She wiped her eyes.

"It's alright." He hugged her. "Ariadne. I need to talk to Arthur."

"What for?" She was concerned.

"I think it will help me clear my head."

"Alright, but only if I go with you."

* * *

_Let me know what you thought. If you have any ideas let me know. Thanks! :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry it has taken so long for me to update. I was going to update it about two weeks ago, but needed to tweak it first and well... Yeah. It got tweaked tonight._

_So here is chapter 9. Enjoy! And remember, I don't own Inception._

* * *

Ariadne sat down beside the sobbing Ellie and hugged her.

Jack sat down on the other side and handed her a box of tissues.

"Th-thanks." She sobbed and blew her nose. "I-I'm sorry Jack. I know I need to pull myself together." She wiped the rest of the mascara off of her eyes.

"No worries Babe." He kissed the side of her head. "You can cry if you need to. It doesn't bother me. It helps me feel better actually."

"How. Does. It. Help?" She sniffled and blew her nose.

"I don't know." He rubbed her arm. "It hasn't sunk in for me yet." He shook his head. He still couldn't believe this was real. He felt like he was living a nightmare. None of this should be happening. His father shouldn't be lying in a hospital bed on the brink of death. His wife shouldn't be crying in the hall because he can't. He shouldn't be so angry at his father for letting this happen or Arthur for causing it to happen.

"I love you." Ellie whispered in his ear. He smiled. Her words were like salve on his aching heart.

He pulled her into his lap and kissed her. He tangled his fingers in her hair. "I love you too."

"Mr. Walters?" His father's doctor walked up to them.

"Yes?" Jack looked up at the petite doctor and feared the worst.

"Your father seems to be holding his own for now. I have done all that I can. It's up to him now. He has to decide if he is going to keep fighting, or let go. I wish there was more that I could do." Her voice was strong, but Jack could tell she was concerned.

"Thank you Doctor. I have to take care of some things. Will you call me if his condition changes?"

"Of course." She nodded and walked back to the nurse's station.

"I'll stay here and wait." Ellie offered.

"I want you to come with me and Ariadne. I don't want you here by yourself. Let's go." He stood up and held out his hand.

"Alright." She smiled and took his hand as he helped her up. She knew she needed to get away for a while and focus on something else. "Where are we going?"

"To see Arthur." Ariadne answered. She didn't like that Jack wanted to talk to Arthur. Her gut told her that Jack wanted to do more than just talk. She knew it wouldn't end well. She wished that Arthur had told her about this. She wondered how things would have been if she had talked to Arthur before she answered Ellie's call.

* * *

"Let me talk to him first alright?" Ariadne glanced at Jack who was sitting in the back seat of the car.

"Alright." He shrugged. He wanted to pound Arthur in to the ground, but he knew that Ariadne wouldn't let him and she would be furious with him if he did.

"I'll be back out. Ellie, make sure he stays in the car." Ariadne opened the car door and stepped out.

"Oh I will." Ellie grinned and crawled into the back seat with Jack.

Ariadne rolled her eyes. She walked up on the porch and saw Daphne playing with two children. She figured they must be Phillipa and James.

"Hey Ari!" Daphne grinned. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. How is everything?"

"Things are alright for now. I guess. Are these Dom's kids?" She changed the subject.

"Yeah. This is Phillipa and this is James." The children waved. "This is my friend Ariadne."

"Hi." They smiled.

"Is Arthur here?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah. He's inside with Nick and Dom. Do you want me to go get him?"

"I don't know. I guess I should go inside and at least say hello to Dom." She really didn't know what to do or what to say.

"Let's go then." She turned to the children. "You two behave. I'll be back out in a few minutes."

"Okay." Phillipa smiled.

The men looked up when the door opened and Ariadne walked in with Daphne following close behind.

"Ariadne! It's good to see you." Dom hugged her. He noticed the brunette had the same worried look on her face as the last time she showed up on his doorstep.

"You too." She forced a smile. It was good to see him, but she didn't feel like smiling or being happy.

"How is he?" Arthur was the first to ask what everyone was wondering.

"They've done everything they can. It's up to him whether he lives or not." She looked at Arthur. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked sadly. She still loved him, but he had hurt her.

"It's my fault." Eames spoke before Arthur could. "I wouldn't let him. It was supposed to be one last job for these people and then we'd be even. I knew your families were close which is why I didn't ask you to help. I didn't know the extent of your friendship with the family until after I agreed and there was no backing out. I'm sorry it turned out the way it did. Don't be too harsh on Arthur Love it really wasn't his fault."

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. I still got hurt. You could have said no to the job." She snipped.

"I didn't know what information they were looking for. I'm sorry."

"I-I don't know what to do!" She was trying to maintain composure but she really wanted to just break down and cry.

"Ari. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me?" Arthur held her hands in his.

"Arthur. Don't ask me that. Because I can't. Not right now anyway. Maybe eventually I can, but not right now." Tears filled her eyes. She wanted this to be okay. She wanted to forgive him, but she was still too angry and confused.

Her words felt like daggers piercing his heart. He would regret this for the rest of his life. He would never forgive himself if he lost her over this.

"Jack is outside. He wants to talk to you."

"He's here?" The point man was surprised.

"I told him he couldn't talk to you unless I was around."

"I doubt he really wants to talk Love." Eames said. Surely she wasn't _that_ naïve.

"Yes Nick I know. Why do you think I told him I had to be around?" Ariadne rolled her eyes. Eames could be really slow sometimes.

"Just checking." He shrugged seemingly uninterested.

"Maybe I should tell Jack you were involved too. Hm?"

"I'd rather you not Love."

"I'll go talk to him." Arthur walked outside.

Jack saw him walk out of the house and he stepped out of the car. "You know if Ari weren't so crazy about you I'd probably kill you for what you did." Jack crossed his arms glaring at Arthur in disgust.

"Well, she's not exactly my biggest fan right now." Arthur knew he had to watch what he said.

"No. She isn't. My dad is a second father to her. We don't know if he will live or not. And if he does he has a long road ahead of him."

"I was asked to help find some information. I didn't know what the information was. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"And if you had known?"

"There was no backing out. Whoever hired me didn't trust me enough to let me live if I did."

"You don't even know who hired you?" Jack asked in disbelief. Why would anyone take a job if they didn't know who the employer was?

"Acquaintances of a friend. I suspect someone in your father's company hired them. Do you know who the whistleblower was?"

"No I don't. Do you?" Jack found himself calming down. Maybe it was because Arthur had remained calm.

"I have a name." Arthur pulled out a piece of paper with a name scribbled on it. "I don't know if it means anything to you or not, but I hope it helps." He handed him the paper.

Jack's eyes grew wide. "He's the vice president of the company. He's one of Dad's best friends. Thank you Arthur."He was sincere. Arthur was a class act even when he had threatened to pound him. He held out his hand.

"You're welcome." Arthur shook his hand. "I hope your dad pulls through."

"Thank you. Tell Ari I will call her later."

Arthur nodded and walked back to the house.

"Surprisingly you're still in one piece." Eames glanced at him.

"And surprisingly my sister loves you." Arthur glared.

"Oi! You think you're so funny." Eames shot back.

"Shut it you two!" Ariadne wasn't in the mood.

"Where is my sister?" He asked her.

"In the kitchen with Dom. She's trying to convince him to let her use the PASIV again."

"What do you mean I can't?" Daphne fussed at Dom as they walked out of the kitchen.

"Just that. You can't. How many different ways do I need to spell this out for you?" He was ready to roll his eyes. She was just as stubborn as Arthur.

"As many times as it takes until you change your mind." Daphne crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. She knew she was acting like a child, but she didn't care. She wanted back in and he wouldn't let her. It wasn't fair.

Dom sighed. "I know you want to Daphne, but you can't. I won't let you. Arthur doesn't want you to. Nick doesn't want you to. You are not coming in contact with the PASIV ever again. And that is final." He felt like he was scolding Phillipa or James and not his former colleague.

Daphne shook her head and walked outside. Ariadne followed her out.

"Daphne. You knew he would say no." Ariadne said as gently as she could.

"I guess maybe I thought I could convince him otherwise. I don't know." She threw up her hands. "This isn't fair!"

"I know the feeling. It's not fair, and you can't do anything to stop it. It's horrible. I know." Ariadne felt the tears coming. She was glad she grabbed extra tissues earlier and shoved them in her pockets. She pulled one out for her and one for Daphne.

"Thanks." Daphne smiled and hugged her. "I should have known that he would agree with Arthur and Nick."

"They just don't want to lose you again. It sounded like it was horrible. Think of what they must be going through. You all saw Mal lose herself. And then they watched you get lost and have to find yourself again. Arthur blames himself for it happening in the first place. They don't want to lose you again."

"And I don't want to be lost again." Daphne muttered. "Maybe if I'm patient and I wait maybe one day they'll let me. But I'm sure it won't be anytime soon." She shook her head. "I know they mean well, but it's so frustrating." She realized she had spent all of this time griping and hadn't even bothered to ask Ariadne how she was doing. "How are you Ari? How are you really?"

"I don't know. I still find myself checking my totem, wishing I was dreaming but knowing I'm not before I even pull it out. I got to talk to him. He was coherent enough for that, but then he fell asleep and for a moment I thought he was gone." She stifled a sob. "He's got a shot, but I don't know if he can make it or not. I don't know what I'll do if I lose him." She wiped her eyes. "I have a flight in a few hours to Sacramento to see my aunt. I know if I see her I will feel better." Ariadne smiled. She felt better just thinking about seeing her only living family member.

* * *

Ariadne had been right. Going to Sacramento had been what she needed. When her aunt opened the door her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh my stars! Ariadne! I've missed you sweetheart!" She hugged her. They hadn't seen each other since Ariadne moved to Paris three years before.

"It's so good to see you Aunt Grace." Ariadne fought back tears. "I've missed you so much!" She hugged her aunt tighter. Seeing her aunt brought back so many memories. Memories of her Dad and Mom and of their funerals. Especially her mom's – just two months before her graduation. She thought the Universe cruel to deal her two harsh blows by the time she was twenty-two. Now it was dealing her another by trying to take Pop away from her. She remembered what her brave mother had told her the day she was diagnosed with cancer – _"Life isn't fair my darling Ari. It's all about how you play the hand you are dealt."_ She smiled to herself.

* * *

"Are you alright Ariadne? You've barely eaten." Her aunt looked at the full plate in front of her.

"I'm just worried about Pop." Ariadne frowned at her coffee as if that would help her feel better. It didn't.

"I know you are. He's a strong man. He'll pull through." She smiled even though she was worried.

"I hope so. I don't know what to do about Arthur." She stared at her plate willing herself to eat something.

"So that's what's really bothering you. Why?"

"I mean, it's his fault this happened in the first place. How could he do that to me?"

"What are you talking about?" The older woman gave Ariadne a puzzled look. She had told her about Arthur, but not about his involvement.

Ariadne realized she hadn't told her aunt that Arthur was involved. She had to tread lightly. Aunt Grace knew nothing of extraction and the Architect wanted to make sure it stayed that way. "He helped the whistleblowers find all of the information they needed. I don't know how exactly, but he did. Through all of his research he found out that I knew the family very well. He still went through with it. I'm so mad at him." She started crying.

"Sweetheart." Grace stood up from her chair and walked around the table to hug her. "You know what you have to do right?" She sat down in the chair next to her.

Ariadne nodded wiping her eyes with her napkin.

"Forgive him. It was something he was hired to do, and by the time he found out about you it was probably too late to back out."

"Yeah, but…" Ariadne began.

"You love him right? I'm sure he feels horrible for hurting you. Any decent man would. So forgive him and move on. Otherwise you'll become a bitter old woman."

"You aren't a bitter old woman Aunt Grace." Ariadne chuckled. She knew her aunt was right.

"I never said I was. I've seen it happen to friends of mine and I don't want it to happen to you. I can tell you love him. I promise you won't feel so torn if you make up with him. Now eat your breakfast." She grinned.

Ariadne giggled. She knew Aunt Grace was right. "Thanks Aunt Grace. That's what I needed to hear." A feeling of relief washed over her. She picked up her fork and started eating her eggs.

"I thought so." Grace winked at her.

* * *

"Did you talk to Arthur?" Grace asked.

"I left him a message and told him I wanted to talk to him."

"He'll call you back." Grace grinned.

"I know. Thanks." She sat down beside her aunt on the sofa. "I'm glad I got to see you while I was in the States."

"I am too. I've missed having you around."

"I'll be better about staying in touch, and I only have a semester left. Then I don't know what I'll do. Maybe I'll take a job closer to home."

"I would love it if you did, but I'll be proud of you no matter what you do. I know that your parents would be so proud of you too."

Ariadne nodded and smiled. She felt a lump growing in her throat and her eyes filling with tears. She wanted to say something, but she wasn't able to. Her voice was gone and the lump in her throat was growing bigger. The doorbell interrupted her thoughts. She swallowed hard to get rid of the lump. "I'll get it." She mumbled. She stood and walked to the door. She wiped her eyes before opening the door. "Arthur?" She asked when she opened the door.

He pulled her into his arms and into a mind-numbing kiss. After a few moments they both pulled away, breathless. He leaned his forehead against hers; gasping for air. "Please don't be mad at me." He finally whispered.

She giggled. "Arthur, it's hard to be mad at you after a kiss like that." She wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him softly. "I don't know if you listened to my message or not, but I forgive you. I don't want to be mad at you anymore." She kissed him again.

"Ariadne. I'm so sorry I hurt you. If I could take it back I would." He cupped her face in his hands.

"I'm sorry I've been angry. I know I hurt you too." She whispered.

"All is forgiven." He grinned.

"So what made you decide to fly up here?"

"I had to see you. I was ready to beg and plead for you to forgive me if I had to. In the same breath I would have understood if you didn't want to. Even though that thought made my heart ache."

"I was ready to forgive you. I just needed time. You know you don't have to stand in the doorway." She giggled. She was still worried about Pop, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her by forgiving Arthur.

"Oh, uh. Sorry." Arthur mumbled as he stepped inside.

"I want you to meet my aunt." She pulled him into the living room.

"Arthur this is my aunt Grace. Aunt Grace, this is my Arthur." She grinned. She didn't mean to say 'my Arthur', but it sounded good. Arthur squeezed her hand.

"It's nice to meet you Arthur." She ignored Arthur's outstretched hand and hugged him.

"Nice to meet you too." He felt out of place.

"Make yourself at home Arthur. Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you. I'm fine." He sat down on the sofa with Ariadne curled up beside him. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder. She took his free hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. He smiled contentedly and pressed a kiss into her hair. Her hair smelled like wildflowers. He thought he was in heaven.

* * *

_Again, I'm sorry it took so long. Thanks for hanging in there. I hope you are still enjoying the story. Now, I have no idea how to continue this so y'all have to give me some ideas. Please. :)_


	10. Chapter 10

_Well... To say this chapter gave me fits would be a severe understatement... It just didn't want to be written. Add that to a busy schedule and you get no update for almost 6 weeks. Oh that's really bad. I am so sorry! I promise I will try not to let it happen again... I hope you'll forgive me for taking this long..._

_P.S. I don't own Inception or it's characters._

* * *

"Darling are you sure you'll be fine? Dom said he can send the children to their grandmother's." Eames watched Daphne while she was making a snack for James and Phillipa.

"Here you are." Ignoring Eames she slid a plate in front of each child.

"Thank you!" They both grinned as they started eating the carrots and ranch dressing.

"I'll be fine." She kissed Eames' cheek. "You guys have fun tonight." Dom and Eames were going to pick Yusuf up from the airport.

"If you're sure." He said hesitantly. He felt uneasy about leaving her. He wasn't sure when he turned into worrywart Arthur.

"I'm sure. Are you?" She pulled him out of the kitchen and kissed him.

"Yes." He wrapped his arms around her. "Call me if you need anything alright?"

"Don't worry. I will. Nick you are just as bad as Arthur with all your worrying." She teased.

"Please don't tell him." He'd never hear the end of it.

"I'll think about it. Have fun with Yusuf." She sat down on the couch and propped her feet up.

He plopped down on the couch beside her. "It won't be as much fun without you." He pouted.

"Well you could always stay with me." She snuggled up to him.

"No, I need him to help me talk to Yusuf."Dom walked in.

"I don't want to know."Daphne rolled her eyes and kissed Eames' cheek. "I'll see you when you get back. Be good."

"Always Darling." He kissed her.

"Thanks Daphne." Dom said as he and Eames walked out the door.

* * *

"Aunt Daphne?" Phillipa called from her room.

"Yeah Sweetie?" Daphne walked into the bedroom.

"We need another blanket to make our fort!" She jumped up and down on her bed.

"Yeah!" James echoed.

Daphne laughed. "I thought the two of you were going to get in bed."

"We had to make a fort first. Will you get us another blanket please?" She folded her hands and pouted.

"Please?" James did the same.

"Oh alright." Daphne kissed their cheeks. "Promise me you will go to bed if I get you one more blanket?"

"We promise." They giggled.

"I'll be right back." She walked out of their room to the linen closet. She pulled a blanket off of the top shelf. She was about to close the door when something silver caught her eye. "It can't be." She muttered as she pulled the silver briefcase down and opened it. "It is." She shook her head. "That weasel." She knew Dom and Mal had a PASIV at one time, but Dom said it was lost. Or that Mal had hidden it. She stashed the briefcase in the closet and walked back to the kids' room with the blanket.

* * *

She sat on the couch and tapped her fingers on the briefcase. The temptation was almost too much for her to bear. Arthur would be mad at her if she used it. _"But Arthur is in Sacramento with Ariadne. He won't know."_ She reasoned with herself. Dom and Eames were going to be harder to convince. Maybe she could use it and stash it away in the closet before they got back. She opened the briefcase and it looked just like she remembered it. There was a bottle of a strange sedative she didn't recognize. It had been expired for over a year. She vaguely remembered Yusuf saying that most sedatives stayed good beyond their expiration date. She hoped this was one of them. She remembered the video, and the emotions it brought back. She pulled her totem out of her pocket. She still kept it with her. Just in case she needed it, but she hadn't. She gazed intently at the maze on the square piece of paper. She rubbed her thumb across the paper to calm her nerves. She took a deep breath folding the paper and slipping it back into her pocket. She unwound the tube and poured the sedative in. Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking. The needle slipped and scratched her arm. She took a deep breath and tried again. She winced at the prick and pressed the button.

* * *

"What did you say?" Yusuf asked Dom to repeat himself. Surely the man had not just asked for his help on _another_ job. The Fischer inception was supposed to be the last.

"We need your help." Dom sighed. He didn't want to do more work again, but the situation presented itself and he couldn't refuse.

"I brought several types of sedative with me. Do you still have that bottle that Mal used?"

"Yes. It's in the closet with the PASIV." Dom said quietly. He didn't like admitting that he had lied about having it.

"You've had a PASIV this whole time?" Eames voice got higher with each word.

"Yes." Dom rolled his eyes.

"Does Daphne know this?" He felt panic welling inside him.

"No. Besides, it doesn't even work." The gravity of what could happen if he was wrong began to weigh on him.

"Let's go." Eames stood up from the table abandoning his drink.

"I haven't finished my drink yet." Yusuf complained.

"Forget it. Let's go." Eames walked to the door. He had a sick feeling in his stomach. He was afraid that Dom was wrong and that the PASIV did indeed work. The thought terrified him.

* * *

Daphne walked around the scenery she had created. It was just as she remembered it, and the memories couldn't compare to really dreaming and creating again. She noted the irony of her thoughts. Sure Arthur was going to kill her. Dom and Eames would be angry, but Dom would understand and Eames loved her. Something in the back of her mind reminded her that this was a very bad idea, but for the time being she pushed that thought as far away as she could.

* * *

Eames walked into Dom's house. "Daphne?" He called. He saw her stretched out on the couch. The needle was still in her arm and she had a couple minutes left. He noticed the blood that ran down her arm. He was about to pull the needle out when Yusuf stopped him.

"Don't interrupt. You know how dangerous that can be." Yusuf warned and loosened his grip on Eames' arm.

"I know, but what if she is in danger? I can't lose her again." He was panicking. He couldn't lose her again.

"You won't lose her." Yusuf tried to sound confident. He looked at Dom and swore under his breath. "You said you destroyed this one." He held up the bottle.

"You just asked me if I still had it." Dom was confused.

"I meant the other one. This one…" He shook his head. "Has very nasty side effects. I think Mal only used it once. She wasn't the same afterward." He thought that it encouraged her warped sense of reality. He didn't tell Eames that.

Eames looked sick. "This is what screwed Mal up. Isn't it?"

"Among other things." Yusuf muttered as he checked Daphne's pulse.

"Arthur is going to kill me." Eames shook his head. "And then I'll kill myself."

"Good luck with that." Yusuf said sarcastically.

Dom rolled his eyes. "No one is going to die. She'll be alright. She has been out of dreaming for long enough that she should be alright."

"Should?" Eames asked in disbelief. "I need reassurance. Some kind of certainty."

"Nick. You know that nothing in this line of work is ever certain." He glanced at Daphne as the timer on the PASIV ran out and she sat up gasping.

"Good morning Arthur." Ariadne smiled at him as he walked in the kitchen.

* * *

"Good morning." He stifled a yawn.

"None of that." Ariadne teased. "Coffee?" She held out a mug.

"Thank you." He kissed her cheek.

"You're welcome. Did you sleep well?" She sat down at the table and glanced at the morning headlines. There was more news about the _"Walter's Scandal"_, but there was no news about how Pop was doing. If no news was supposed to be good news – she wondered why she was still so worried.

"I slept great. How about you?" He sat down across from her.

"I slept well. Better than I have been." She smiled.

"That's good." He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"Who is that?" She asked when his phone started ringing.

"Nick. Why is he calling?" He let it ring a couple of times before answering it. "Hello?"

"_Bloody Hell Arthur! What took you so long?"_ Ariadne could hear Eames' booming voice through the phone.

"Sorry Nick. I was talking to Ari." He rolled his eyes.

Ariadne giggled. She could Eames carrying on about something. "I love you." She whispered.

Arthur winked at her. "Alright Nick! So what did you want?" He sounded annoyed.

Ariadne watched Arthur's face fall. A sick feeling crept into her stomach. She watched Arthur chew on his lip for a few minutes. Finally Arthur hung up without saying a word. Ariadne wanted to know what was wrong but, in the same breath, she didn't. She was afraid it was about Daphne. She looked up at Arthur. "Why did Nick call?" She tried to sound calm, but her shaky voice betrayed her.

"Daphne." He began.

Ariadne's heart sank.

"Somehow she found the PASIV that Mal had hidden in the closet. Dom knew about it, but he didn't think it worked." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "But it did. Yusuf said the sedative she used has nasty side effects. Mal used the same one and she was never the same. I don't know who I should be angry with – Daphne for using the PASIV, Dom and Nick for leaving her alone, or myself for everything." He threw his hands up.

"Arthur." She stood up and walked around the table to hug him. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself." She kissed his cheek.

"I know, but…"

"No. I know how you feel. It's easy to blame yourself when it's not your fault. Trust me. I know." She had to learn that she couldn't blame herself for what happened to Pop.

"Thank you." He knew she was right and he felt a little better. "Nick said she won't talk to them, but she keeps asking to see me." He had hesitated to tell her because he didn't want to leave her.

"You need to go see her Arthur." Ariadne said firmly. She laughed when she realized how serious she sounded.

"Well that was my plan Sweetheart." He chuckled at her.

She blushed. "Do you want me to go with you?" She asked shyly.

"I would love for you to. Maybe it would help Daphne to see you too." He smiled at her and changed the subject. "Have you heard anything?" He gestured to the newspaper on the table.

"I haven't." She sighed walking around the table to pick up her coffee mug. "More coffee?" She filled her mug.

"No thanks." He walked up behind her and kissed her cheek. "I love you." He whispered in her ear.

She smiled. "I love you too." She turned around and kissed him. "What would I do without you?" She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Well for starters, you wouldn't have a shoulder to lean on right now." He pulled her into an embrace.

"Thank you." She murmured.

* * *

Daphne was sitting on Dom's back porch swing. Arthur took a deep breath and walked outside. "Hey." He smiled as he sat down beside her.

"Hey." She glanced at him.

They sat in awkward silence. Neither sure of what to say. Arthur didn't want to make her angry and Daphne was terrified that he was angry with her.

"Arthur. I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me." She started sobbing.

"Oh Daph." He hugged her. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just glad that you are alright." He held her close. "I love you."

She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you Arthur. That's what I needed to hear."

"Well. It's the truth. Was the temptation too great?" He couldn't help but tease her a little bit.

"Phillipa and James wanted another blanket to finish their fort. I pulled the blanket off the shelf and there it was. I made sure the kids were asleep before I pulled it out. I figured I could go in and be out before the guys got back. I would be the only who knew."

"What was it like? Was it worth it?" He wanted to know if she would be willing to try it again.

"It was incredible!" She grinned. "Endless creation Arthur! It was fantastic. You know something though – I had it all wrong."

"How so?" He was confused.

"I figured you would all be furious with me – You most of all. I figured Dom would understand, and I knew that Nick loved me." She bit her lip to help stop crying. "And, well, you're not mad. Dom seems really disappointed. And Nick is SO mad at me." She let out a sob.

"Do you want me to beat him up for you?" Arthur was joking, but he would beat Nick up if she wanted him to.

"No. That's okay." A sob caught in her throat.

"He was really worried about you." For the life of him he didn't know where that comment came from or why he was defending Eames.

"I know he was. I'm sure you were too. I'm sorry I scared you." She whispered.

"I'm just glad you are alright." Arthur hugged her again.

"I heard them talking earlier." She half muttered.

"About what?" He wondered what they had been talking about and if it was anything that they hadn't told him yet.

"Yusuf said I used the same sedative that messed Mal up. What if I end up just like her?" She started crying again.

"You won't end up just like her." He tried to sound confident, but he was concerned. He needed to learn more about the sedative.

"How do you know?" She wiped her eyes.

"I won't let that happen to you. I promise." He hugged her.

"Thanks Arthur." She hugged him. She felt like he was older than her, and was going to look out for her. She vaguely remembered feeling like this when she came out of limbo.

"Hey you two." Ariadne joined them on the porch.

"Hey Ari." She felt a little better just seeing Ariadne. "Are you feeling better?"

"I am." The brunette winked at Arthur. "Thanks. How are you?"

Daphne shrugged and blinked back tears.

"I'll let you two talk." He stood up and kissed Ariadne's cheek.

"Thanks Arthur." Ariadne sat down on the swing.

Daphne puffed out her cheeks and let out a deep breath. She pulled her long black hair back into a messy bun.

Ariadne snorted. "I'm sorry. You looked funny."

"I feel like I'm going crazy, but please don't tell Arthur." She begged.

"You aren't going crazy." Ariadne tried to calm her down.

"But Mal…" She began.

"Daphne. You aren't Mal. No one…" She almost said 'no one has performed inception on you', but she wasn't sure if Daphne knew.

"No one what?" Daphne sounded confused.

"No one thinks you will end up like Mal." She hugged her.

"You know what Ari? You really are one of my best friends. No one outside of the team knows about extraction and I can never tell anyone what really happened to me. Sometimes I forget and almost blab to one of my friends from school or my parents when they ask me about my mugging. I hate having to lie to them, but it makes it easier knowing that I can talk to you and you won't think I'm crazy. Enough about me." She cleared her throat. "How is Jack's father?"

"I haven't heard anything. I wish I knew something, but I know worrying won't do me any good. I'll try to call Jack this afternoon, and I may try to go by the hospital if Pop feels up to it." She hoped that Pop was doing better even though she knew his chances were slim.

"I'll go with you if you want me to." Daphne offered. "Anything to get out of here."

"I don't blame you. Have you talked to Dom or Nick?" She knew the answer before she asked.

"No." Was the terse reply. "Dom hasn't said a word to me. He just seems really disappointed. Nick is so mad at me." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Nick was just scared he would lose you again." She explained carefully.

"I know, but he didn't have to yell at me! I was confused enough when I woke up without him yelling at me!" She started sobbing.

"I remember how confused I was the first time I shared a dream with Dom, and I don't know what I would have done if Arthur had yelled at me." She couldn't imagine the pain that Daphne was feeling right now. "No, I _do_ know what I would have done." She corrected herself.

"What would you have done?" Daphne stopped sobbing to hear what Ariadne was going to say. She was curious.

"I would have smacked him like I did the morning he woke me up. Well, I didn't smack him – I smacked the phone out of his hand." She remembered how mad she had been at him.

"What did he do?" She wondered how stupid her brother had been while she was in the hospital.

"He was yelling into his phone one morning around 6 so I banged on the door to let him know he woke me. He yelled 'what?' and I yelled back that he woke me up and then I smacked the phone out of his hand and slammed the door in his face." She laughed – the retelling was definitely funnier than the incident itself.

"That sounds like Arthur." Daphne rolled her eyes. "He'll get so into a conversation and then he blows up at the first person who interrupts."

"And he was on the phone with your parents." She added.

"That was when they were still mad that he didn't look after me. That's not something I ever want to live through again, and yet I did the very thing that caused it in the first place. You would have thought I would have learned my lesson. Oh well." She shrugged. "In some ways I feel just as confused now as I did when I woke up." She wiped away a stray tear.

"I wish I could tell you when the confusion goes away." She felt just as helpless.

"I don't think it ever really goes away." She shook her head and snorted. "Extraction is mind blowing – Well, you know that."

"Yes I do." She agreed. "So there will always be some confusion until you wrap your mind around it. If that's even possible." Her mind hurt just thinking about it.

Daphne pulled her dark hair out of the bun without a word. She ran her hands through her hair several times before pulling it back into a bun again.

Ariadne remembered it was one of Daphne's nervous habits.

Daphne drew her legs up and hugged them to her chest. "It's really quite something." She whispered.

"What's something?" Ariadne wasn't sure she heard her right.

"Nick and myself. He's taller than me and twice my size." She chewed on her lip as if she were trying to recall what she wanted to say. "And yet, I've never been afraid of him. When I woke up the three of them were standing in front of me staring. They looked scared to death. I was completely out of sorts. I couldn't even speak. I felt like I had just been startled awake out of a deep sleep. Yusuf gave me some water and told me I should try to sleep. If I could have stood up without my legs giving out I would have run away. I know I shouldn't have gone in again, but I couldn't help it. I had to know, but if I had known how angry Nick would be at me… I don't think I would have. I've never been afraid of him until he yelled at me this morning." She started crying. His angry words echoed in her head. _"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? OR WERE YOU EVEN THINKING AT ALL?" He shouted._

_She didn't know so she didn't answer him._

"_You realize you could have died in there right? What if you had gone to limbo again? We would have had to pull you out and save you again." His tone was lower, but still angry._

_She just started at her hands that were folded in her lap._

"_Well? Do you have anything to say, or are you just going to sit there?" He glowered._

"_I want to see Arthur." She said quietly._

"_You want to see Arthur?" His tone mocked her._

_She didn't say anything. She wondered where her spine had gone._

"_Fine." He stomped back into the house._

"I guess I'm surprised he called Arthur." She wiped her eyes and blew her nose with the tissue Ariadne handed her. "I don't know where my spine was."

"It was just as confused as the rest of you." Ariadne tried to sound serious, but failed.

Daphne laughed. "Thank you Ari."

"Let's get out of here. Arthur reserved two hotel rooms for us. You can get some sleep and have peace and quiet."

"Sounds great. I just have to get my bag." She stood up and walked back inside.

They could hear Arthur talking to Eames in the kitchen. "I'm going to tell them we're leaving."

Daphne nodded and turned into the kids' playroom to get her bag.

* * *

"Arthur?" Ariadne walked into the kitchen. "We're going to leave."

He nodded. "How is she? Is she alright?"

She didn't know how to answer him. "Define 'alright' Arthur."

"She's not alright. Is she?" He was afraid to ask.

"No Arthur. She's not."

* * *

_Again, sorry it took so long to update. Let me know what you thought. Thanks! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

_Here is chapter 11. I thought I would get it up sooner, but it didn't happen..._

_I don't own Inception nor do I own the line from "How To Save a Life" by The Fray._

* * *

"_And I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life."_

* * *

Eames had been listening to Arthur drone on and on about Daphne and sedatives. He got bored after the first few minutes and started thinking about what he had said to Daphne. He hadn't meant to yell at her. It just came out that way. He felt sick when Ariadne walked in and told Arthur that Daphne wasn't alright.

"What do you mean she's not alright?" Arthur looked as sick as Eames felt.

"I don't know Arthur. I think she just needs time." Ariadne squeezed his hand. "We're going to the hotel so she can try to sleep."

"She may have nightmares." Yusuf said as he walked back in the kitchen. "Just to warn you." He shrugged awkwardly.

Ariadne nodded. "I had my fair share of those."

"Did the sleeping pills help?" He dug around in his bag.

"Yes, they did thank you." She was glad she had them.

Yusuf nodded and mumbled incoherently.

"I'm ready Ari." Daphne pulled her suitcase into the kitchen. She purposefully avoided eye contact with Eames. She was afraid he was still angry and would yell at her again but she knew that Arthur would protect her.

Eames glanced up at her but knew better than to say anything. He thought she looked subdued and lost – the way she looked when she came out of limbo. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and he knew she _never_ wore her hair in a ponytail. This wasn't his Daphne. She was lost again, and he was powerless to change it. She looked in his direction for a second and the look in her eyes scared him. Her eyes were blank and unfocused; she wasn't looking _at_ him. She was looking _through_ him.

"Ari are you ready?" Her voice broke through his thoughts.

Ariadne nodded. "I'll call you if I need anything." She hugged Arthur kissing his cheek. "Cross your fingers." She whispered in his ear.

"I'll see you both later." He gave them a half smile.

* * *

"I feel so much better." Daphne walked out of the bathroom and plopped on the bed across from Ariadne. "Do you know the shower has jets? It felt so good!"

"I didn't know that, but it would make sense because Arthur reserved the rooms." She was tempted to get a shower herself.

"Is Arthur coming by later?" Daphne scooted under the covers.

"He didn't say, but I'm sure he will." She sat up and stretched. "I think I might take a shower."

"Go for it. I'm going to try to sleep." She pulled the covers over her head.

* * *

"Why did you yell at her Nick?" Arthur had wanted to ask him that since he talked to Daphne, but waited until she was gone. He knew it would only cause a bigger scene and make things much worse.

"I didn't mean to. It was just the first thing that came out. I'm sorry alright?" He groaned and hit his hands on the countertop. "I was scared to death Arthur. Seeing her hooked up to the PASIV again brought back memories." He shook his head as if to shake away the memories.

"I'm glad I wasn't here." The words surprised them both. "I probably would have yelled at her too. I had an hour long flight to get my head together."

"I knew that I shouldn't have left her…" He began.

"None of us knew that Dom still had their PASIV." Arthur interrupted. He stopped talking when he heard the back door open and shut.

"Uncle Arthur!" Phillipa squealed as she ran to him.

"Hello Phillipa." He scooped her up in his arms. "How are you?" He kissed her cheek.

"I'm fine. Where is Aunt Daphne? James and I made something for her." She glanced around the kitchen.

"She went with Ariadne to the hotel to get some sleep. She wasn't feeling well."

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!" She started crying and screaming. "She can't die! She just can't!"

Arthur glanced at Eames who wore a startled look that Arthur was sure rivaled his own. "Calm down Sweetheart." He said calmly. "Daphne is not going to die. She's okay."

"No. That's what Dad said when Mommy got sick. He said she wasn't feeling well so she was going to the hotel to get some sleep. She never came back!" She threw her little arms around Arthur's neck and sobbed.

"Phillipa?" Eames walked across the kitchen and tapped her on the shoulder. "Darling, your aunt Daphne is going to be just fine."

"P-promise?" She sniffled looking up at him.

"I promise." He kissed her cheek.

* * *

Daphne awoke with a start from her nightmare. She slowly calmed her breathing. "Ari?" She called.

"Yeah?" Ariadne walked out of the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

Daphne was sitting up with her legs crossed, eyes closed, and hands on her knees.

"Nightmare?" She asked sitting down beside her.

"Yeah." Daphne took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was terrible."

"Did you have nightmares after you came out of limbo?" She hugged her.

"I did. For days at least maybe even weeks or months – I don't really remember. They seemed to last forever and then one day they were gone. Ugh! Why did I think this was a good idea to go back in again? Why didn't I listen to all of you?" She held her face in her hands.

"I can't answer that." Ariadne wished she could do more to help.

* * *

Eames was sprawled out across the bed in the room adjoining Ariadne and Daphne's. Ariadne was going to the hospital to see Pop. Ellie had called and said he had taken a turn for the worse. Ariadne was upset so Arthur had volunteered to take her. How heroic of him Eames thought, and since they were gone, that left him to watch out for Daphne who had been sleeping for about an hour. He was sure she wouldn't want to see him when she woke up. He hadn't figured out what he was going to say to her or how he would even begin to apologize. He jumped up and ran into her room when he heard her start screaming. "Daphne? What's wrong?" He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"N-nightmare. It was horrible." She sobbed into her hands.

"You're awake now. You'll be alright." He squeezed her hand.

"I just have to remember that it wasn't real. This is real." She swung her first at him, but he blocked her with his hands. She glared at him.

"I know I deserved it, but reflexes." He shrugged.

"Well I found my spine." She crossed her arms and a sly grin spread across her face.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was scared to death that I would lose you. I couldn't understand why you would go back in, and I'm sorry Daphne. I felt like it was my fault for leaving you."

"It wasn't your fault Nick." She touched his cheek. "I'm sorry I went under again. I know I scared all of you. I thought I could go in and come out before you guys got back." She shoved him off the bed and he tumbled to the floor.

"Ow." He sat up. "Alright, I deserved that." He grinned sheepishly.

Daphne giggled as she patted the bed. "Sit."

"Can you ever forgive me?" He batted his eyes as he sat beside her on the bed.

"If you can forgive me." She hugged him.

"Of course I can. I like your hair curly by the way." He gently brushed a curly lock away from her face tucking it behind her ear.

"You've never seen it curly?" She seemed surprised. "If I don't blow dry my hair it gets curly like this. Arthur's would do the same if it were longer."

"I've seen his hair in the morning before. It's a disaster." He chuckled.

"It is." She mused. "Where are Arthur and Ariadne?"

"Ari went to the hospital and Arthur went with her being the gentleman that he is." He rolled his eyes.

She yawned. "Will you do something for me?" She completely ignored his response to her first question.

"Anything." He leaned his forehead against hers.

"I just asked for 'something' and you offered 'anything'." She grinned mischievously.

"Hmm. I did didn't I? I'll do anything for you Love. You know I would." He kissed her.

"Will you curl up beside me so I can sleep and maybe not have nightmares?" She seemed hesitant.

"It's worth a shot, and a good excuse to hold you." He curled up beside her. "Scoot over."

She giggled and scooted over to make room for him. "Just don't tell Arthur. You know how he is."

"I wouldn't dream of it Darling. I know how he is." He pressed a kiss into her hair. "Have I told you that I love your hair curly?"

"You mentioned it." She blushed rolling over to face him. "Thank you Nick." She leaned her head against his chest.

"You're welcome Love." He wrapped his arm around her and tipped her face up so her mouth could meet his.

* * *

Ariadne walked with Arthur down the hospital's hallway to Pop's room.

"I'll wait out here." Arthur gestured to one of the chairs in the waiting room.

"Thanks Arthur." She hugged him before knocking on the door.

Jack opened the door. "Hey Ari. Come on in."

She nodded and walked inside. Pop was sitting up in bed. He seemed to be doing better which worried her because her dad seemed to get a little better right before he died. Ellie was standing next to Jack. There were two men in suits standing next to the window.

"Ari. Come here child." Pop whispered.

"Yes?" She walked over to him taking his hand in both of hers.

"I am very sorry Ariadne." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I have to go now, but before I do I want to know that you will be alright." He smiled at her.

"I…" She felt the tears well up in her eyes. "I don't know Sir. I'll try, but I don't know if I can. You are the only parent I have left. Who is going to walk me down the aisle when I get married?" The tears finally spilled over.

"Hopefully I will be back by then." He smiled kindly.

"What?" She glanced at Jack. "What is going on here?"

"Ari, the vice president of my company betrayed me." Pop began to explain. "Granted, I was complicit to the extent that I was aware of his activities, but chose to ignore it. I never thought he would turn on me like he did. I didn't shoot myself. He shot me."

"Oh my gosh!" She gasped and covered her mouth.

"So we are taking him into witness protection while we build a case against Victor Mendez." One of the men in suits said.

"FBI?" She looked at them.

They nodded.

"This is getting stranger and stranger." She muttered more to herself than anyone else.

"And you have to walk out of this room as if he is dead." Jack was sympathetic.

"Do this for me Ari." Pop smiled. "I will be alright and I know you will be too. I will see you soon my dear." He held out his arms and she hugged him.

"I love you Pop." She started crying. It really felt like a goodbye.

"I love you too Ariadne." He smiled at her.

"Now you have to sell this story to Arthur." Jack's tone was serious, but still kind.

She turned to him. "I think I can do that."

"Can you cry on demand like me?" Ellie joked. The ability to cry easily wasn't something she was proud of.

Ariadne leaned against the wall. "I'm not as good as you." She forced herself to think of how she felt when her parents died. She started sobbing and taking deep breaths. She slid down the wall to the floor and cried.

"I'd say you're as good as me." Ellie smiled and blinked back her own tears. "We'll be okay Ari." She helped her up.

"Thanks Ellie." She hugged her and then Jack. "Bye." She tried to smile, but her heart ached too much. She hoped she could convince Arthur, but she hated lying to him. She walked out of the room toward the waiting room.

Arthur saw her and stood up. "How is he? Is he okay?"

She took a deep breath. "He's gone." She started crying again.

"Oh Ari." He pulled her into an embrace. "I'm so sorry."

Guilt coursed through her body. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed. "It's not fair Arthur! It's not fair!"

"I know." He said softly. "It isn't fair. I am so sorry, and this is my fault."

She looked up at him. "No Arthur. It's n-not y-your fault." She stuttered through her tears. "It's not your fault." She kissed his cheek.

* * *

Ariadne felt a little better by the time she and Arthur got back to the hotel. "Well, I don't hear anything so maybe she is still sleeping." She slipped the key in the lock and opened the door. "No Eames." She glanced at the empty beds and then at Arthur.

"Oh I'm gonna kill him."Arthur started walking toward the other room.

"Arthur." Ariadne hissed. "If Daphne is sleeping don't wake her up. She needs her sleep. It's the only thing that can really help her."

He rolled his eyes and kept walking. He wasn't prepared to see his sister sleeping in bed in the arms of Nicholas Eames. He forgot what Ariadne told him. "What the…?" He shouted.

Daphne shot up and looked at him. "Oh Arthur shut up!" She fell back in bed. "Don't be such a prude." She nudged Eames. "Nick. Wake up."

"What?" He swatted his hand at her haphazardly.

"Arthur and Ariadne are back." She mumbled curses under her breath at Arthur as she crawled out of bed.

"Hello Darlings." Eames sat up and yawned.

"Enjoy your afternoon?" Arthur asked sarcastically.

Ariadne rolled her eyes.

"If you are asking if I had a nice nap Arthur Darling then yes, I did." He flashed his usually smug grin.

"Arthur." Daphne walked over and stood in front of him. "I'm fine. I wanted to sleep without having nightmares so I asked Nick to sleep beside me. And you know what? It worked! So chill." She smiled and hugged him.

"Sorry to wake you up." A wave of guilt washed over him. It wasn't as big of a deal as he thought it was, and he should have let her sleep.

"All is forgiven." She said lightly and looked at Ariadne. "How was the hospital?"

Ariadne shook her head sadly and walked back in the other room. She wished she could tell them the truth, but she knew she couldn't. She hoped that they could forgive her for lying to them.

"You two play nice." Daphne looked at Eames and Arthur who looked like they might attack each other as soon as she walked out of the room.

"It hurts that you doubt me darling." Eames batted his eyes at her.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Beating him is not worth you hating me."

Daphne chuckled, shaking her head as she walked into the other room. Ariadne was standing by the window talking on her cell phone. Daphne caught the tail end of the conversation.

"I'm okay Aunt Grace. Even though he's gone now and my heart feels like it's breaking I know I'll be okay 'cause I still have family. I have you, Jack, Ellie, Arthur, and Daphne." She seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I love you too Aunt Grace. Bye." She turned and smiled at Daphne as she set her phone down on the table. "I was giving Aunt Grace the news."

"I'm so sorry." Daphne hugged her.

"Thanks. I think I'll be okay. I'm sure I'll cry some more, but I'll be okay. He's at peace, and strangely enough I am too." She blinked away a few stray tears.

* * *

_Let me know what you thought! Also if there is anything you want/need to see let me know! :) Thanks for reading!_


	12. Chapter 12

_So I took a break from writing for a little bit, but I think I'm back now. I certainly didn't intend to be gone for two months... Yikes._

_Remember, I don't own Inception. I do however own Daphne, Jack, and Ellie. They are mine and you can't have them. Unless of course you ask nicely…_

_So here is chapter 12..._

* * *

"Hey Phillipa?" Dom called her into the kitchen.

"Yeah Daddy?" She ran to him and then saw Daphne. "Aunt Daphne!" She squealed.

"Hey Sweetheart!" Daphne scooped her up and kissed her cheek.

"Are you feeling better?" She threw her arms around Daphne's neck.

"I _am_ feeling better Phillipa. I just needed some rest." She smiled and hugged her.

"I'm glad you didn't get sick like Mommy did." She leaned her head against her shoulder.

"Me too Baby." She whispered glancing at Dom. She realized how dangerous it was for her to use the PASIV, and how fortunate she was that she hadn't ended up like Mal. _"And if something had happened to me Nick would blame himself, and become as broken as Dom. I can't let that happen to him."_

* * *

"Arthur?" Daphne called through the door. "Can I come in and talk to Nick?"

"Sure." He opened the door and smiled. "I'll go say goodnight to Ariadne." He hugged her before walking into the other room.

Daphne closed the door behind him. "Nick?"

"Yes Darling?" He mumbled with a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Are you brushing your teeth?" She teased as she walked into the bathroom.

"Mmhmm." He spit in the sink. "How do you think my teeth stay so beautiful?" He kissed her. "Where is Arthur?" He kissed her again.

"He was going to say goodnight to Ari." She weighed her words before continuing. "I wanted to talk to you before I went to sleep."

"Alright then." He took her hand in his and led her out of the bathroom. "What's wrong?" He sat down on the bed.

"Nothing is wrong." She sat beside him as he slipped his arm around her. "I just wanted to say again that I'm sorry I used the PASIV without telling you. I know I scared you, and it's the last thing I ever wanted to do. I know if something had happened to me you would blame yourself, and I can't bear the thought of you being as broken as Dom. I won't ever use the PASIV again Nick. I promise." She looked up at him.

"How about you promise to never use the PASIV _alone_ again?" He grinned and winked at her. "Then if you decide that you absolutely must go under again I can be there to save you."

"Deal." She giggled and kissed him. "I love you Nick."

"I love you Daphne." _"And I always will." _He thought to himself. "Nothing will change that. Ever."

* * *

"Hey Ari." Arthur walked over and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Hi." She looked up from her book.

"You okay?" He rubbed her arm.

She set her book down and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't seem real." She whispered. "I keep hoping I'll wake up." She gave her bishop a flick successfully knocking it over. "You would think I would be used to it by now, but somehow it never gets easier." She yawned. "I'm sorry. I've got to get some sleep." She kissed him.

"Alright. Night Ari." He stood up to leave.

"Hey. Arthur?" She seemed hesitant.

"Yeah?" He turned around.

"Um, I was wondering… Will you stay in here with me tonight?" She chewed on her lip.

"Sure." He walked around to the other side of the bed crawling in beside her.

She curled up beside him.

"Besides. Daphne is probably asleep in Nick's bed and I don't want to see that again." He rolled his eyes.

"They're in love Arthur. Leave them be." She chuckled.

"I know, but she's my sister!" He protested. "I don't like it!"

"I didn't say you had to like it. I just said let them be." She ran her fingers through his hair. She had always wanted to, but for some reason never dared before now.

"I don't like that either." He frowned for a moment.

"Too bad." She tousled his hair. "Is it really that bad that Daphne is happy?"

"No, it's great that she's happy but why did it have to be with Eames?" He fussed.

"Things happen for a reason or at least that's what my mom used to tell me." She smiled as she heard her mother's voice echo in her head.

"I didn't know about your parents until Daphne told me." He stroked her cheek. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you Arthur. You're sweet. I'm okay now. It was hard for a while and then things started getting better, but now I don't know what I'll do without Pop." She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear slipped out.

"You'll be okay. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." He had to admit it felt good holding her in his arms.

"And just so you know…" She whispered. "If Aunt Grace knew you were in bed with me right now she'd beat you."

"It would be worth it." He kissed her.

"And my dad would have shot you." She teased.

"Thanks for the reassurance Ari." He chuckled nervously.

* * *

"Hello?" Ariadne mumbled as she answered her phone.

"Hey! I woke you up didn't I?" Jack seemed pleased with himself.

"Yeah you did. What's up?" She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus.

"So we found dad's will. He doesn't want a funeral or a service of any kind. He just wants to be cremated and his ashes spread across the Pacific. Surprised both of us actually." He sounded distracted.

"Surprises me too." She muttered. Pop didn't seem like the type.

"Um, is that okay with you?" He asked before muttering something to Ellie.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so. Why are you asking me this?" This was too much to discuss when she first woke up.

"He listed you along with Ellie and me as a beneficiary. So it concerns you too. He always thought of you as a daughter." He smiled.

"Jack. Don't make me cry this early in the morning." She blinked back tears.

"I'm sorry Ari. Don't cry. We're gonna be okay. I promise." He didn't mean to make her cry. "There are a few things that we need to talk about later. Can you come by around lunch? Ellie is cooking something that smells fabulous."

"Alright. What time is it?" The clock on the nightstand wasn't set.

He glanced at his watch. "Uh, about ten. Ellie says to be here at noon."

"K. See you then." She yawned.

"K. Bye." He hung up.

Ariadne dropped her phone on the nightstand and groaned.

"Everything okay?" Arthur mumbled.

"I don't know." She rubbed her eyes. "I have to go see Jack and Ellie in a few hours. He has the will so we have to look over it or something."

"Well, are _you_ okay?" He asked knowing she wasn't.

"Just another distraction." She mumbled so he couldn't hear.

"What's that?" He thought she said something about a distraction.

"I'm okay Arthur. Thanks." She rolled over and kissed him.

"Are you two decent?" Daphne called through the door.

"Yes." Ariadne giggled.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Good morning." Daphne walked in the room. She saw them in bed and giggled. "Arthur. I take back what I said about you being a prude."

Arthur blushed. He didn't like being hypocritical and yet, here he was.

"Where's Nick?" Ariadne asked.

"He left a note saying he had to check on something. I didn't hear him leave." She plopped down on the other bed. "I don't know when he'll be back."

"I have to leave before lunch." Ariadne yawned and sat up.

"Where are you going?" Daphne asked.

"To see Jack and Ellie." She got out of bed.

"When is the funeral?" Daphne silently chastised herself for not figuring that's where Ariadne was going.

"Pop didn't want a funeral. He wants to be cremated and have his ashes spread across the Pacific Ocean." Even though she knew that part _might_ be true she felt bad about lying to them.

"Well, I guess to each his own." Daphne shrugged.

"I guess so. We never would have expected it from him, but we really never knew what to expect from him." She shook her head. "I guess I didn't know him as well as I thought I did."

* * *

"Hey Ellie, hey Jack." Ariadne called as she let herself in the front door.

"Hey Ari! Come on in!" Ellie called from the kitchen.

"Lunch smells good." She smiled.

"Thanks. Jack's on the phone with the FBI or someone." She shrugged.

"Need me to help with anything?"

"Nah, I've got it. Here ya go." She handed her a plate of spaghetti. "Let's eat. I'm starving and Jack said we could eat without him."

"Good 'cause I'm starving too." She grinned.

Jack walked in a few minutes later. "Sorry I'm late Ladies." He sat down and started eating.

"Is everything okay?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah. The investigation seems to be going well." He began.

"What does that mean?" Ariadne interrupted.

"Just that I guess. He didn't give any clues at all about how long he thought it would take. You would think it wouldn't take long, but they need more information or something." He shrugged.

Ariadne could tell it bothered him. "I'm sorry." She offered.

"It's alright." He smiled.

"So why am I here other than to eat?" She grinned at Ellie.

"We have to plan the memorial service. It's just going to be the three of us." Jack seemed distracted.

"Does he really want to be cremated or did you make that up?" She wouldn't have been surprised either way.

"I could never have made that up. I was reading the will and I started laughing. Ellie accused me of being insensitive." He chuckled.

"It was insensitive Jack. Who laughs when they read a will? Really." Ellie fussed at him.

"I do. Even if he were really gone I would probably have still laughed when I read it." He shrugged.

"So he'll be alright?" Ariadne asked.

"He's fine. They've already moved him. I just hope Victor is convinced. With Dad gone, Victor is president and is now being investigated. The FBI has already grilled me and maybe they're convinced that I knew nothing." He sighed. He was stressed. They all were.

* * *

"Arthur, Darling, I have solved our problems." Eames announced as he walked into Dom's kitchen.

"Question. No. Two." Arthur eyed him cautiously. "One – I wasn't aware that we had any problems – So what are our problems? Two – How on earth could you solve anything?"

"Arthur that hurts." He pouted.

Dom rolled his eyes. The two of them were worse than his children.

"Where are Daphne and Ariadne?" Eames glanced around, but didn't see either.

"Daphne is next door with Phillipa and James. Ariadne is planning a memorial service." Arthur's tone was blunt.

"Well be snippy if you so desire." Eames folded his arms and leaned against the counter.

"Will the two of you shut up?" Dom scolded both of them before Arthur could respond. "What is this grand scheme of yours Eames? And what are our problems, or should I say your problems?"

"_I_ don't have any problems." He replied smartly. "Arthur is the one that…" He started to say 'has trouble getting laid', but remembered that Daphne made him swear to never imply that they were sleeping together.

"What about me Eames?" Arthur glared.

"Nothing." Eames grinned. "So the solution is another job."

"You agreed to another job? Without our knowledge or approval?" Dom asked.

"You don't have to be in on it if you're going to be pissy about it." Eames sounded bored.

"What's the job?" Arthur asked.

"It's for the FBI" Eames grinned.

"Are you serious? I thought they wanted you dead or alive." Dom smirked.

"Very funny. They're willing to forget about that if we help them." Eames explained.

"We? Oh this just gets better and better." Arthur mumbled. "And what exactly do _we_ get out of this?"

"You mean besides my undying love and devotion?" Eames asked and then stopped to think. "That's it."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "So let's pretend I might actually go along with this stupid scheme of yours. Who's the mark?"

"Arthur, Darling I love it when you go along and don't ignore me." He batted his eyes.

"Will you just get on with it?" Arthur's patience was running thin.

Eames sighed dramatically. "You suck the fun out of everything. It's Victor Mendez. He was the vice president and now the acting president of Patrick Walters' company." He smiled, very pleased with himself. "Arthur this may just get you back in Ariadne's good graces if you can clear the old man's good name."

"So _that's _my problem?" Arthur asked.

"Mmhmm." Eames grinned very pleased with himself.

"You're implying that I'm not in Ariadne's good graces." Arthur crossed his arms.

"I'm not saying that at all." Eames shook his head.

"I…" Arthur just shook his head knowing it was useless to argue and then it hit him. "You think my problem is that I can't get laid." He glared.

Eames was surprised that Arthur caught on so fast.

"And you're sleeping with my sister!" Red crept up his face.

"Now, now. Arthur." Eames backed away slowly. "I never said I was sleeping with Daphne."

"I'm going to kill you." Arthur growled.

"Don't do anything rash Arthur." Eames continued to back up. "You don't want Daphne mad at you."

"She'll eventually forgive me." He rushed at Eames who turned and ran out the door.

Dom shook his head. "Why me?"

"What is that all about?" Ariadne gestured to the front door.

"Arthur thinks Eames and Daphne are sleeping together. He says he's going to kill him. Maybe they'll slug it out and get it over with."

"Maybe. Why does Arthur even think that?" She knew it was true, but Daphne had sworn her to secrecy.

"I'm not even sure. Eames said something about another job and it solving Arthur's problems." He sighed. It made his head hurt.

"Oh dear." Ariadne shook her head.

Dom and Ariadne both looked at each other when they heard Daphne yelling. "ARTHUR! NICK!" The door opened a few seconds later with Daphne stomping in, pulling Arthur and Eames by the ear.

"Darling please let go of my ear. It hurts." Eames pleaded.

"Eames shut up!" Arthur barked. "Ouch Daphne! Quit!" He frowned at her.

"Both of you shut up. Please." She let go of their ears and gave them both a shove as she sat down at the table.

They glared at each other. She had stopped them before Arthur caught up to Eames.

"And not a word to me." Her voice was shaky as she rubbed her face with her hands.

"Are you alright?" Ariadne asked quietly.

"I think I'm going to throw up." She stood up and walked outside.

Ariadne glared at Arthur and Eames before following Daphne out.

"Well maybe this job will get _both_ of you back in _both_ of their good graces." Dom was enjoying how Eames so-called brilliant idea backfired so miserably. "But I wouldn't hold my breath." He chuckled.

* * *

_Let me know what you thought. And I hope you will forgive me for waiting so long to update. Sorry. :(  
Also if you have any suggestions let me know about those too._

_Thanks!_


	13. Chapter 13

_I was going to post this over the weekend as a happy birthday to me, but I ended up adding to it and I like it better now…_

_I realized that I haven't thanked you for reviewing. Sorry! You all are the best to put up with me and review! So thanks! And thanks for the messages and ideas! Also thanks if you have subscribed to alerts and/or favorited this story!_

_I don't own Inception, or the characters, or a PASIV._

* * *

"Uncle Arthur? Are you and Uncle Nick having a staring contest?" Phillipa asked.

"Yes they are." Dom answered. "They can't talk because they are concentrating. Neither wants to lose." He tried not to laugh.

"Let's join them James!" She grinned running to the other end of the table.

"Okay!" James agreed crawling into the closest empty chair. "Hey Phillipa!" He crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

She laughed and did the same.

Dom leaned over the table so the children couldn't hear him. "Just remember you did this to yourselves, and don't yell at my children."

* * *

"Ugh, I've been nauseated all day." Daphne sat on the porch steps and leaned her head against the railing. "I wish I could puke." She wondered if sticking her finger down her throat would help.

"I'm sorry. Do you know why?" Ariadne wondered if she was pregnant.

"I think it's just nerves. I've been to the doctor since we've been in L.A." She folded her hands in her lap.

"Which doctor?" Ariadne was curious, and worried.

"The doctor who treated me after I came out of limbo. I went and saw him the other day. He says I'm doing well for everything I went through. He doesn't know the truth though. I asked him if I could lose my memory again, and he said I could if I ever experienced any kind of severe trauma again. He gave me anxiety meds and told me to stay calm. Those two twits do not make it easy." She gestured to the house.

Ariadne giggled. "Daphne? Are you pregnant?"

"Yeah. I think am." She giggled. "Don't tell Arthur. He'll kill Nick for sure!"

"I'd try to stop him, but I doubt I could make a difference." She had seen Arthur running after Eames and knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.

"I know you would." She agreed. "When Arthur sees red you just have to let him cool off. Sometimes it takes a while."

* * *

"How's it going?" Ariadne leaned over Arthur's shoulder and kissed his cheek.

"Better now." He smiled.

"I meant the research, but I'm glad _you_ are better." She smirked.

"It's going well." He and Eames had decided to not let her go in with them. She created the maze, but they didn't want to risk the mark recognizing her. "Are you sure you it's okay that you aren't going in with us?" He pulled her into his lap.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes, and whether you get everything you need or not, thanks for trying." She kissed his forehead. She knew how much pressure he was putting on himself. "And I'll still love you know matter what."

"I love you too." He kissed her softly. Kissing her made him feel giddy inside. He wondered if she felt the same way.

She giggled against his lips, and tangled her fingers in his hair. She couldn't imagine anywhere else she'd rather be.

"Tsk, tsk. No public displays of affection in the workplace." Eames waltzed into the room.

"I'm not working Mr. Eames." Ariadne chuckled.

"I'll remember that the next time you steal a kiss from my sister Eames." Arthur took the chance to jab the forger.

Eames grinned. "Valid point Arthur."

"Is Dom here yet?" Arthur changed the subject.

"He was dropping the kids off." He paused as if trying to remember something. "Oh Ari, Daphne is waiting for you in the car."

"Thanks Nick." She reluctantly hopped out of Arthur's lap. "You two play nice." She winked, and walked outside to the car.

* * *

"Hey." Daphne smiled.

"Hey. So?" Ariadne asked.

"Positive." She giggled.

"Oh my gosh!" Ariadne giggled too. "Now what?"

"Now we get coffee. It's the strongest thing I'll be able to have for the next seven months." The reality was slowly sinking in.

"How did you find out? Doctor?"

"Oh, no. I got a kit from the pharmacy. It's so much easier." She grinned.

"You've done this before?" Somehow it wasn't surprising.

"Remember how I said Arthur could do no wrong? Yeah, I wasn't the best teenager. Someone had to be a devil." She chuckled. "I caused my parents a lot of grief, and I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is." She cleared her throat. "What about you? Perfect child or hellion?"

"I don't know about perfect, but definitely not hellion." She shook her head. "I guess Arthur and I have a lot in common."

"That you do." Daphne commented as she pulled into the café parking lot.

"So are you going to tell them?" Ariadne asked as they walked inside.

"In my own time. In my own way." Daphne was being cryptic.

They ordered their drinks and sat at a corner table.

"Well since you've shared I suppose I should too." Ariadne said guiltily.

"Go for it. Your secret's safe with me." She wondered what secrets Ariadne was keeping.

"He's not really dead." Ariadne whispered.

"What? Who's not dead?" Daphne was shocked.

"Pop. He's alive." She blinked back tears.

* * *

Arthur woke up shortly before Eames. He glanced at their mark, Victor Mendez. _"Still sleeping. Good."_ He thought. He nodded at Dom who had decided to sit out and keep an eye on things. He wasn't ready to go back in yet.

Eames woke up. "Well that was a wild ride." He muttered as he helped Arthur pack up the PASIV.

"Let's just get out of here before he wakes up." Arthur picked up the briefcase and walked out of the hotel room.

"So what happened in there? Did you get what we need?" Dom asked once they were in the car.

"Yep." Eames winked at Arthur. "Everything the FBI needs to prosecute him."

"The mark said that Patrick Walters is still alive." Arthur sighed.

"What?" Dom looked at him, and then had to swerve to get the car back on the road.

"Pay attention!" Eames shouted from the backseat.

"Sorry!" Dom glared at him in the rearview mirror. "I thought Ariadne said he was dead?"

"She did." Arthur looked concerned. "So either she doesn't know, or she lied to us. He said something about Walters being in witness protection."

"So if Ariadne knew she couldn't tell us." Eames interrupted.

* * *

"Ari, I'm so sorry." Daphne said sadly. "At least he's still alive, but I know it must be hard."

"It's horrible. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I couldn't keep it inside anymore." She bit her lip to stop her tears. "I'm sorry I lied to you."

"No. Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. I understand, and I know that Nick and Arthur will understand as well. Don't feel bad Hon." She pulled some tissues out of her purse and handed them to Ariadne.

* * *

"Hey Arthur. Did you get what you needed?" Daphne asked as she and Ariadne walked into Dom's house.

"Yeah we did. Nick is taking it to the FBI now." He smiled.

"You called him Nick." Daphne grinned.

"Slip of the tongue." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Aw! He's back in your good graces again." She hugged him. "I knew you two could love each other again." She giggled.

"You're hilarious Daphne." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Hey Arthur." Ariadne hugged him.

"Hey Ari." He couldn't help but smile every time he saw her. "Um, I need to ask you about something." He sat down on the couch.

"Is everything okay?" She sat down beside him.

"It's just something that the mark said when he was under. He asked us if we knew that Patrick Walters was still alive. "

"Oh gosh. Arthur I…" She started crying.

"It's okay. He said Walters was in witness protection so it all made sense to me. Are you alright?" He slipped his arm around her.

"I don't know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you Arthur. I feel horrible." She cried into her hands.

"You couldn't tell me. I understand Sweetheart." He lifted her face so he could see her eyes. "It's alright. I promise." He kissed her cheek.

"Told ya." Daphne winked and tossed her a box of tissues that was sitting on the table.

* * *

"'Ello Love." Eames grinned when he saw Daphne sitting on the porch.

"Hey Nick, where have you been?" She smiled back even though she was tired and nauseated.

"Visiting with the FBI. I'm glad you're here. Where are Arthur and Daphne?" He sat down beside her.

"Inside. I just heard a thud so I think one of them fell off the couch." She giggled.

"That's more than I needed to know." He rolled his eyes. "A simple 'inside' would have been fine."

"Oh come on." She poked his arm. "You're just jealous that it's not you and me on the couch." She kissed his stubbly cheek. "And that needs to go." She patted his cheek.

"Mm. I'll think about it." He pulled her into his lap, trailing kisses down her neck. "I love you." He murmured.

"I love you too." She giggled. The nausea wasn't as bad when she was with him.

"So we are supposed to have dinner with Arthur and Ariadne tonight at some fancy restaurant…" He began, but stopped and looked at her as she slid out of his lap. "What?"

"Mood killer." She glared at him. He really could be very dense sometimes.

* * *

Ariadne hurried into the restaurant. She hated being late, and didn't mean to stay so long at Jack and Ellie's. She glanced around the room and waved to Daphne. The hostess seemed to finally believe her, and let her go in. Ariadne sat down at the table and noticed that Arthur and Eames were glaring at each other. She looked at Daphne. "Uh! You told them without me?" She wanted to see the full reaction.

"Tell us what?" Arthur glanced at her.

"Not yet." Daphne hissed through her teeth.

"Oh. Oops." Ariadne cringed and picked up the menu.

"Tell us what Daphne?" Arthur asked again.

"Nothing Arthur. I don't want to talk about it right now. Leave it alone until after dinner." She said quietly. "That goes for you too Nick." She added without looking up.

Eames looked at Ariadne bewildered.

Ariadne stifled a giggle. She wasn't sure she could keep her laughter in through dinner.

* * *

Arthur glanced at his watch. He had been done eating for ten minutes. Daphne was still enjoying her dessert. "Daphne." He tried to sound calm.

"Arthur." She scraped the rest of the chocolate off of her plate with her fork.

Ariadne poked him.

He rolled his eyes.

"I told you I would tell you after dinner." She said simply.

"And it's after dinner." He was growing impatient.

"Yes it is." She set her fork down on the table. "Actually it concerns Nick more than it concerns you, but since you have to be in everyone's business all of the time I'll tell you as well." She looked up at them.

Ariadne giggled. "Arthur. She's right you know."

He rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I'm pregnant." She looked first at Arthur, and then at Eames trying to gauge their reactions.

"You're what?" Eames sputtered.

Arthur didn't say anything and his face did not get red like Daphne expected it to. Then, he smiled. "Very funny Daphne. I'm not falling for another one of your stupid April Fool's jokes."

"You're joking?" Eames still looked stunned.

"Arthur, why would I joke about that?" She asked ignoring Eames' reaction.

"You've always had the worst jokes. I've fallen for enough of them." He crossed his arms.

"It's not even April first. It can't be an April Fool's joke." Eames was annoyed that no one was actually listening to him.

"It doesn't have to be April first. It can be April, January, September, or the middle of July. It doesn't matter to her. She's always been like this. It's very annoying." Arthur grumbled.

"Well I'm annoyed." Eames glared at Arthur.

"Don't be annoyed with me." Daphne pouted, not wanting them to be mad at her.

"I'm not annoyed with you Love." Eames smiled at her. "So are you joking or not?"

"She's joking." Arthur answered for her.

"Suit yourself Arthur." She winked and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Arthur was irritated at her attitude.

"Back to the hotel. I'm tired." She was put out with him. She didn't think he would doubt her and she had been certain that Eames would believe her. She was a little hurt.

"I'll go with you." Ariadne offered.

"Thanks Ariadne. Goodnight Boys." She walked out of the restaurant.

* * *

Ariadne crawled in bed and switched off the light. Daphne had gone to bed as soon as they got back. She hadn't expected for Arthur to be so cynical over Daphne's news. "Are you awake?" She asked Daphne.

"Yeah." She pushed the covers off her face and looked at Ariadne. She had been crying.

"I'm sorry." Ariadne didn't know what else to say.

"I underestimated Arthur. Nick's reaction I expected, but Arthur's was a total surprise to me. I've always been good about being able to read him. I don't know what's changed, but I don't like it. I almost feel like I don't even know him anymore. I don't like being pregnant. It's making me emotional." She squeezed the bridge of her nose to keep from crying.

"Have you been pregnant before?" Ariadne almost felt like she was being too nosy.

"Not that I know of. I thought I was once. Or twice…" She grinned. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Ariadne shrugged.

"Ya know." She sat up and turned towards Ariadne. "Part of what's changed Arthur is you I think."

"How have I changed him?" She didn't realize he had changed. Maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.

"I can't put my finger on it exactly. He's not as uptight, and he's definitely not the prude he used to be." She chuckled.

Ariadne felt her cheeks burn.

"He needed to take a chill pill years ago, so I'm glad he met you. You've mellowed him out somehow." She was glad Arthur was with Ariadne. She was good for him.

"I don't know what I did, but I'm glad I met him too." She smiled.

There was a knock on the door.

"If that is Arthur or Nick, I am asleep." She stifled her giggle, and then grumbled, "Stupid emotions."

Ariadne nodded as she got up to see who was at the door. She looked through the peephole and saw Arthur and Eames standing in the hall. "Why didn't you go to your room?"

"I thought Nick had his key so I left mine in the room. He thought I had mine." Arthur looked particularly annoyed. He knew he should have known better.

"Is the door to our room still open?" Eames asked.

"I think so. Just be quiet 'cause Daphne is sleeping." She lied.

"When did she go to bed?" Arthur suddenly seemed more concerned and less annoyed.

"Right after we got back. She said she wasn't feeling well." She sighed.

"And I didn't help." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Was she serious? Is she really pregnant?"

"You'll have to ask her." She kissed his cheek. "Night." She smiled at them.

* * *

_Let me know what you thought! I'll be better about thanking you. :)_

_And of course if you have any ideas let me know._


	14. Chapter 14

_I'm baaaaaaaaaack. :) Sorry for the hiatus. The writing just wasn't happening and when it was - I didn't like it. So anyway. Here is Chapter 14..._

_P.S. Thanks for all of your reviews. And thanks to lovinlife83 for suggesting the April Fools joke! Meant to thank her in the last chapter... _

_Oh, and in case you didn't know, I'm not Chris Nolan, and I don't own Inception or its characters._

* * *

Ariadne opened the hotel door to pick up the paper and squealed.

"What?" Daphne asked from inside the room.

"Look! It worked!" She rushed back in and tossed the paper to Daphne.

Daphne picked up the paper and smiled. "FBI arrests Victor Mendez in connection with Walters' financial scandal." She read the headline aloud. "That's great Ari!"

"I'm going to tell Arthur and Nick." She grabbed the paper.

"Go for it. I'm going to stay in bed." Daphne rolled over.

Ariadne rolled her eyes and knocked on the adjoining door.

It took a few minutes for Eames to open the door. "Morning Love." He grinned.

"Morning. Is Arthur up?" She held up the paper.

"He is. I'll let you tell him." He winked. "Is Daphne up?"

"Only if you decided to shave this morning. Otherwise, no." Daphne piped in.

"Then it's your lucky day Love." He brushed past Ariadne.

"Morning Arthur." Ariadne closed the door behind her. "Were you awake?" She walked over to the bed and crawled in beside him.

"Yeah I was. I haven't been sleeping a lot." He rubbed his eyes. "So uh, is there a particular reason you came in or did you just want to get in bed with me?" He rolled over and pulled her close.

At first she couldn't tell if he was serious or not, and then he chuckled. "I love you Ari." He kissed her softly.

"I love you too Arthur." She stared into his dark eyes; feeling like she could just get lost in them and it wouldn't even matter.

"So you never answered me." He smirked.

"I was giving Nick and Daphne time alone." She kissed him. "And I wanted to see you." She stroked his cheek. "And I wanted to show you the paper."

"What paper?" He yawned.

"This paper." She reached behind her for the newspaper and handed it to him.

He read the headline to himself and smiled. "I know you must be relieved."

"I am. Thank you." She kissed him hard on the mouth.

"Mm. So does this mean I am back in your good graces?" He tangled his fingers in her hair.

"You were never out of my good graces my darling Arthur." She kissed him again and added, "I was mad at you, but you were always in my good graces."

* * *

"Morning Love." Eames grinned at Daphne.

She lifted her head up over her covers and glanced at him before dropping her head onto her pillow. "I'm still not going to talk about the other night." She stopped his question before he could even ask. She knew it was coming because it was the same one he had asked for days.

"I didn't say you had to." He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "But I did shave for you." He stuck his bottom lip out and pouted.

"I didn't say you had to." She sat up and hugged him. "I would have still loved you regardless." She kissed him.

"I know you would have. So will you tell me?" He nudged her over so he could lie down beside her.

She slid over to make room for him. "Didn't Arthur explain the April Fool's joke to you? I can't tell you yes or no until it comes true. So if in a couple months I look like I have a ball stuffed under my shirt you'll have your answer." She knew she shouldn't torture him.

"And I suppose if you don't, I still have my answer." He wished she would just tell him. "Why won't you just tell me?" He pleaded.

"What does it matter Nick? We aren't even supposed to be together. You said so yourself." She turned away from him.

Her words stung. "What? When did I say that?" He wondered what he had been on to suggest something so asinine.

"When I was in the hospital. Before you left to do the extraction on Walters." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You said we couldn't be together." She forced the words out.

"I did say that." Regret washed over him as the memory hit him. He rolled her over so he could see her reaction. "And _you_ made me promise that one day we would be able to be together." He kissed her nose. "Do you remember that?"

"Vaguely. Like something from a half-remembered dream." She muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"Well you said it Love, and I promised. I just… I owed some favors to people who I'm not proud to admit I know. I wanted to keep you safe. It was better if I wasn't attached to anyone. I'm sorry." A sickening dread crept into his stomach. He had hurt her and he hated it.

She chewed on her lip for a minute. "What about now?" She was terrified of the answer.

He waited a few minutes to answer her. "I don't know Love." He let out a sigh. "But I do know that I love you." He kissed her lightly on the mouth. "And I know that I want to be with you." He watched a smile spread across her face.

She didn't get a chance to respond before Arthur walked in.

"Nick? A word?" He turned back into the other room.

Eames groaned. Arthur seemed particularly irritated or maybe he was just grumpy. "Let me go take care of Arthur. I'll be back later." He kissed her again before rolling out of bed.

"Mmm. Alright." She murmured and hugged her pillow.

Eames sulked back into the room he shared with Arthur. He wasn't in a mood to deal with Arthur's attitude. He shut the door behind him. "What do you want Arthur?" He leaned against the door.

"So did she tell you?" He wanted to know and Ariadne wouldn't tell him so he decided to interrupt their conversation.

"No. No she didn't. She said it didn't matter since she and I aren't even supposed to be together." He rubbed his face with his hands and walked over to his bed.

"Oh." Arthur cringed. "I didn't think she would remember that." He realized he shouldn't have interrupted.

"I didn't either or I never would have said it. Granted, we couldn't be together then, but she barely remembers making me promise that eventually we could be." He should never have told her anything, and maybe it would have been better that way.

"I'll talk to her. 'Cause even though I don't understand why, my sister is crazy about you and it makes her happy." He rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Daph?" Arthur called as he walked into her room.

"Yeah?" She walked out of the bathroom still twisting her hair.

"Let's get some coffee." He used the line she always did when she needed to talk.

She nodded and smiled. "Let's." She walked out of the room with him. She didn't say anything until they were on the elevator. She felt like he was waiting for her to talk. "Did Nick ask you to talk to me?"

"No. I wanted to talk to you. I feel like we haven't gotten to talk in a long time." He said quietly.

"Alright. I want more out of life Arthur. I am tired of living in a hotel and watching you and Nick work various jobs. I want to be productive. I want to be normal again." She laughed at how silly she sounded. "Well as normal as I can be. Arthur, I heard about a job from Ari. It's with the Sacramento Art's Council. They need someone like me."

"Daphne that's great. Why didn't you tell me?" He hugged her.

"I didn't know how you would take it, which is why I didn't tell Nick either. The two of you are always travelling and with Ariadne going back to Paris I wanted to figure out a plan." She cringed when she saw the shock in Arthur's face. "She hasn't told you?"

"No. She hasn't." He leaned against the elevator wall feeling defeated. "I guess I knew she would go back to Paris, but we never talked about it. I never thought to bring it up."

"She was probably worried about how you would take it." She offered.

He nodded in agreement. "I'm sure she has plans for her life. I just want to make sure I'm a part of them." He let her step off the elevator first.

"So tell her. She'll smile and giggle, and she might even cry. But she'll be happy because she loves you." She smiled.

Arthur saw it as the perfect chance to turn the tables. "And Nick loves _you_. It actually drives me crazy that out of all the people in the world, it had to be him." He rolled his eyes.

Daphne couldn't help but laugh. "I know, and I love him too." She walked outside.

"But?" Arthur asked as they walked to the café.

She shrugged, but didn't say anything.

He nodded, and kept walking. He didn't push the issue. She would tell him in her own time. She had already told him more than she had in months.

She didn't say anything until she ordered her coffee. Arthur found it interesting that she ordered decaf. She sat and stared at her coffee. "I love him Arthur." She said quietly. "I don't want to be in Sacramento alone. I don't want to raise a child alone!" She blurted, and then blushed, covering her mouth. "Theoretically of course." She mumbled.

Arthur smirked. "Of course."

"It's not funny Arthur!" She tried to keep from laughing.

"I didn't laugh." He tried to stifle his laugh.

She looked at him and started laughing.

"Somehow I knew this day would come. Although I didn't expect you to cry 'April Fools'." He laughed.

"It made sense at the time. Your reaction through me for a loop though. Maybe I shouldn't have been so casual about it." She shrugged.

"I wasn't sure if you were joking or not, but I figured if you really were pregnant that you wouldn't joke about it. When you got up and left I realized you were serious. I'm sorry Daphne." He was sincere. He hadn't meant to upset her.

"Oh hush Arthur. Don't make me cry. The baby makes me do enough of that." She smiled.

"So are you going to tell Nick?" He tried to sound serious, but failed miserably.

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose I should. Does he think I am?"

"He doesn't know what to think." He sighed. "Did you really say that it didn't matter if he knew because the two of you weren't even supposed to be together?"

"He said it first." She sounded like a child.

"Daphne. The man is crazy about you. He would do anything in the world for you. Do you really think he would have ever said that if he wasn't looking out for you? If he didn't really love you?" He felt exasperated.

"Arthur, I don't know. The whole 'mugging' incident scrambled my brain, and then the 'relapse' took those scrambled pieces apart and scrambled them again. And then just when I think I have gotten things straightened out I get pregnant! And that scrambles things in its' own way. I say things that I don't mean." She took a sip of her coffee and stared at her cup.

"Well the good news is that you aren't crazy. You're just pregnant." Arthur laughed.

She laughed with him. "Thank you Arthur. I needed this."

"I did too." He wished they had talked sooner.

* * *

"Hey Nick." Daphne walked into the room with Arthur.

"I'm gonna go talk to Ariadne." Arthur walked into the other room.

"Good luck." Daphne sat on the bed next to Eames. "And tell her that I thought she told you."

Arthur nodded.

"How are you Darling?" Eames wrapped his arm around her.

"Better since I talked with Arthur." She kissed his cheek.

"Well that's good." He was glad she felt better.

"So I spilled the beans to Arthur about Ariadne going back to school and my moving to Sacramento." Her voice was hesitant. She didn't know how he would react.

"And what is in Sacramento that is so much more fabulous than me?" He teased.

"A job. But I highly doubt it's more fabulous than you." She kissed him. "Unless they've found a way to clone you. Then I would be in trouble." She kissed him again.

"You'd really leave me with no one but Arthur for company? Do you know how boring he was during the Fischer job?" He was half-kidding and half-serious.

"He's not so bad. Ariadne has loosened him up." She smiled. "Guess what?" Now seemed as good of a time as any.

"What? You know I'm terrible at guessing." He pouted.

She laughed because he was right. "I'm pregnant!" She beamed.

"Really? You aren't joking?" His tone was hesitant, but hopeful.

"Really!" She giggled. She felt like a weight had been lifted that she didn't know existed.

"I'm glad you told me." He kissed her. "I was beginning to thinking something was really wrong with you."

"Nothing's wrong. I love you, and I'm sorry." She scooted closer to him.

"No worries Love. I love you too."

* * *

"Hey Arthur." Ariadne greeted him after she finished her phone call. "How was coffee with Daphne?"

"It went well. She is supposedly telling Nick all about it…" He began.

"That's good. I'm glad she finally decided to tell him." She opened her laptop to check her email.

"She told me to tell you she was sorry because she thought you had told me." He didn't want to think about being without her.

"About me going back to school next month?" She regretted not telling him.

"Next month?" He tried to sound calm, but his voice betrayed him.

"Arthur." She stood up and hugged him. "I should have told you before now. I'm sorry."

He returned the hug. "It's alright. I guess in the back of my head I always knew you were going back to Paris to finish school, but I just never talked to you about it. I never thought to ask you about your plans, but I should have. And, well, I want to be a part of them." He felt the blush in his cheeks.

"Arthur." Her reaction was just what Daphne said it would be. She smiled and giggled, and her eyes filled with tears. Then she kissed him. "I want you to be a part of my plans. I don't know what I'll be doing after I graduate, but I want to be with you."

"And I want to be with you." He kissed her.

* * *

_Aw... Anyway, I hope you liked it, and I hope I didn't lose all my readers by waiting two months to update. _

_If you have any thoughts or ideas let me know. Thanks! :)_


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry it's been a while, but thanks for the reviews. :)_

_P.S. I don't own anything..._

* * *

"I appreciate you helping me, but you didn't have to." Ariadne kissed Arthur before turning her attention to the lock on her apartment door.

"I know, but I wanted to." He smiled shifting the bag in his arms.

"You're a sweetheart. I don't care what Eames says about you." She giggled as she finally found her key and unlocked the door.

"What does he say? Wait. I don't want to know." He shook his head. He could only imagine.

"You can set the bag there. Thanks." She smiled as pulled her suitcase to her room.

"Alright. I'll get the box from the lobby." He called over his shoulder as he walked out.

The beer bottle on the counter caught Ariadne's eye. "Bri?" She called, knowing her roommate was _somewhere_.

"Ariadne! You're back." A purple-headed Bri popped out of the other bedroom and hugged her.

"Uh, your hair is purple." She was surprised not that it was a different color, but because it was purple. Bri hated purple.

"Yeah. It was supposed to be blue. But apparently red hair plus blue _Kool-Aid_ equals purple. Who knew?" She shrugged.

"I would have thought you would know since art is your 'thing'." Ariadne tried not to laugh at her friend.

"Photography. Not paint." She shook her finger at Ariadne. "So how was your summer?" She changed topics.

"Busy." She didn't want to go into details. "Yours?"

"I ended up going home for two weeks, but I've been here since then. I've been working on my final portfolio. What have you done this summer?" She plopped down on the couch.

"Here's the box." Arthur walked in before Ariadne could answer.

"Say no more." Bri grinned.

Ariadne blushed. "Bri, this is Arthur. Arthur, this is my roommate Bri."

"_Very_ nice to meet you." She grinned.

"You too." He glanced at Ariadne.

"Oh. The kitchen!" Bri jumped up and walked to the fridge.

"Why does she remind me of Eames?" Arthur whispered to Ariadne.

"I think they were separated at birth." Ariadne mumbled.

"I took the liberty of throwing out the food you left in here and I rearranged the shelves." She said with her head in the fridge. "And I adjusted the tape."

"She's a little OCD." Ariadne whispered. "And has boundary issues." She gestured to the colored tape on the floor.

"I'd say so." Arthur looked closely at the floor and realized the color coordinated tape was in relation to 'Bri's space' and 'Ari's space'. He looked at Ariadne.

She shrugged. "And you wonder why I don't talk about her." She said a little too loudly.

"I feel so much better." Bri stood up and looked at Ariadne. "I don't talk about you either." She started laughing.

"Do you two get along?" Arthur couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah. We just like our space." Bri threw the beer bottle in the trash.

"She likes her space. I'm not the one with boundary issues." Ariadne corrected her.

"This is true. I'm going out tonight. Are you good here?" Bri asked and glanced at Arthur.

"Yeah I'm good." She blushed. "Just don't bring anyone home."

"Now who has boundary issues?" Bri grabbed her sweater and walked out the door.

Ariadne shut the door and rolled her eyes.

"You didn't tell me you lived with your own personal Eames." Arthur smirked.

"When we were working here I called him Bri one day." Ariadne giggled. "I don't think he heard me though." She walked over to where he was leaning against the wall staring out the window, and wondering if he had heard her.

"Depends on if he was paying attention." He turned and smiled at her.

She smiled and asked the dreaded question. "When do you have to leave?"

"When do you want me to?" He teased.

"Arthur. That's not funny." She walked to her room to unpack.

"I know. I'm sorry." He followed her to her room. "Eames and I are supposed to meet up in Toronto at the end of the week."

"Alright." She kept her back to him.

"Which means I could probably be two days late and he would never know it." He turned her around to face him, smiling at her.

She rolled her eyes.

"You know that's funny." He smirked.

She tried not to laugh, but couldn't help it. "Arthur I love you. You make me laugh even when I don't want to."

* * *

Daphne was awake and couldn't sleep. "When do you have to meet Arthur?" She asked Eames.

He groaned and rolled over. "I don't remember. He said something about Toronto and the end of the week."

"Well you know that whatever day you plan on being there Arthur will have been there for at least two days." She chuckled.

"So does that mean I should be two days early or two days late?" He kissed her wishing he didn't have to leave at all.

"I'd go for two days late." She snuggled closer to him.

"That would work for me, but Arthur would probably kill me." He tangled his fingers in her hair. "And then what would you do without me?" He pouted.

"Hmm. You might be right, but Arthur wouldn't hurt me. Therefore, Arthur wouldn't hurt you. Too badly…" She giggled. "I love you Nick."

"I love you too Daphne. Maybe more than you know." He stroked her cheek.

Her eyes filled with tears. She realized how much he loved her and how horrible she was for being careless about it. "Nick. I'm so sorry." She hugged him. "I know I've been horrible to you, and I've sent you mixed signals, and I'm sorry." She cried.

"Daphne." He whispered in her ear. "I love you darling. Nothing will ever change that." Nothing could change it. He loved her too much.

* * *

Arthur got dressed quietly and packed his bag. He wanted to her sleep for as long as he could. "Ariadne?" He kissed her forehead.

"Don't wake me up yet. You can't leave until I wake up." She murmured.

"Ari." He shook his head. "Would you really make me miss my flight?"

"No, but I'd think about it." She sat up and hugged him. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." He kissed her. "But I'll see you in a month. I promise." He stood up.

"I love you." She crawled out of bed and hugged him again. "Be careful."

"I will. I love you too." He kissed her nose and picked up his bag. "Keep Bri in line." He smirked.

"I'll try." She rolled her eyes following him out of her room.

"Morning love birds." Bri sat at the counter reading the paper and drinking a beer. "Want a beer?"

"I've got to catch my flight, but thanks." Arthur tried not to laugh. "Bye Ari." He winked at her.

"Bye." She smiled at Arthur, and then looked at Bri. "I think I'm going back to bed. It's eight in the morning. Why are you drinking?" She raised an eyebrow at her roommate.

"Never too early to start." Bri laughed.

"Just like Eames." She muttered.

* * *

_So I know this was kinda short, but I was trying to get another chapter in. Let me know what you thought. Thanks!_

_P.S. I'll be on hiatus for a month 'cause I'll be working on my NaNoWriMo project. Wish me luck! :)_


	16. Chapter 16

_Finally, chapter 16... Sorry._

_P.S. I don't own Inception or the characters..._

* * *

Arthur _had_ seen Ariadne a month later (Well, twenty-eight and a half days if anyone counted), but he hadn't seen her in two months. They talked on the phone several times a week, but it just wasn't the same. He hated not seeing her.

He decided to walk up the three flights of stairs to her apartment instead of taking the elevator. He knocked on her apartment door and then he heard giggling.

A few seconds later Bri opened the door. "Oh hey Arthur." She grinned and hung up her phone.

"Hey Bri. You're hair is blue." He stammered.

"Yeah it is." She shrugged nervously. "Um, you're here to see Ari right?" She seemed hesitant.

"Yeah, is she here?" He asked.

"No. She's pissed at me. More so than usual. I don't know where she is." She shrugged.

"Have you tried calling her?" He suggested.

"She won't answer. She never does." She muttered. "Will you call her for me? I'm going home for Christmas and I don't want to leave without knowing she's okay." She pouted, knowing she was acting like a child.

"I'll call her." He pulled out his phone, pressing her number.

Ariadne answered the phone after one ring. "What is it Arthur?" She sounded annoyed.

"I'm at your apartment and I didn't know where you were 'cause Bri said you weren't here." He said.

"Turn around." She hung up and tapped his shoulder.

"Oh." He felt stupid.

A smile spread across her face. "I've missed you!" She threw her arms around him.

"I've missed you too." He whispered into her hair.

She wiped her eyes and glanced over his shoulder at Bri. "I thought you'd be gone by now."

"I, I was hoping you'd come back. I was worried about you." Bri stammered.

"I'm fine. Thanks. Merry Christmas Bri." She walked into her room slamming the door behind her.

"Merry Christmas Arthur. Good luck." Bri forced a smile and grabbed her bag.

"Merry Christmas." Arthur said as he watched her leave. He didn't know what was wrong with Ariadne. He waited a few minutes and then knocked on her door.

* * *

"Nick!" Daphne giggled when he tickled her sides. "Stop." She pretended to fuss at him.

"I'll think about it." He smirked before kissing her.

"I love you." She kissed him back. "Have you talked to Arthur?"

"I have not. Have you talked to him or Ariadne?" He asked, forgetting to tell her he loved her. He never did that.

She stepped away from him to check her phone hoping one of them had called. "I talked to Arthur a few days ago; he was going to surprise Ari. I haven't talked to Ari in almost a month." Her voice cracked. "I don't know what's wrong. She's been really stressed with school, but I don't know why she won't talk to me." She started crying.

"Come here." He pulled her close again. "First of all I love you too." He kissed her. "Secondly, Arthur is flying to see Ariadne and he would have called me if there was something wrong. You know how he is." He couldn't help but add a jab in there.

She laughed. "I know. We both worry too much, and over analyze everything."

"That you do Love." He placed his hands on her stomach and felt the baby kick. "And I hope you are less of a worrywart than your Mummy and Uncle Arthur." He spoke to the baby.

* * *

"Ariadne?" Arthur knocked on her door. "Are you alright?"

She opened the door. "I'm sorry Arthur. I haven't slept in two days trying to finish my projects. I know Bri was worried, but I just couldn't deal with her. And I missed you so much." She covered her face and cried.

"I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her. "I should have taken a break to see you. I'm sorry." He repeated and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled. "Thank you for being here now!" She sniffled.

"Anything for you." He kissed her forehead.

"What would I do without you?" She asked herself.

"I don't know." He smirked and leaned against the door frame.

"I don't either." She sat down on her bed. "Arthur. I haven't been sleeping through the night. I haven't been for a while now." She rubbed her face with her hands. "I can deal with that part of it. It's happened before. But, the part that really freaks me out is I can't remember if I dream. Sometimes I think I'm dreaming when I'm awake. I find myself checking my totem more than Dom." She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Arthur. What's wrong with me?" She whispered.

He sighed, loosening his tie. He didn't think she would stop dreaming so soon. He sat down beside her. "Eventually you will stop dreaming. I stopped years ago. It happens." He shrugged. "It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you. I promise." He wrapped his arm around her. "I should have told you before that it could happen."

"You might have. I don't remember." She yawned.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to get a late dinner, but do you just want to go to bed?" He asked.

"Let's go to dinner. I haven't eaten much the past couple of days." She smiled.

"I was hoping you'd want to eat. I'm starved." He kissed her.

* * *

"Hello?" Arthur mumbled as he answered his phone.

"Arthur! Where are you? And why have you and Ariadne not been taking my calls?" Daphne fussed.

"Daph? Wha, what are you talking about?" He whispered not wanting to wake Ariadne.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She hated repeating herself.

"Daphne. It's six in the morning. Can we talk about this later? Please?" He was trying not to get angry.

"Arthur." Ariadne cuddled up to him. "Is that Daphne?" She reached for the phone.

"Uh huh." He yawned and handed her the phone.

"Hey Daph. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you. I've had a lot going on, but I shouldn't make excuses. I promise we'll catch up when I get back to Sacramento." Ariadne apologized.

"When will that be? Aunt Grace wants to know." Daphne smirked.

"Oh gosh. Aunt Grace." Ariadne groaned. She hadn't talked to her in a month. At least.

"Yes Ariadne. Good to know you haven't forgotten about _her_." She snipped.

"I haven't forgotten about her, or you. I promise." She hoped Daphne believed her.

"What?" Daphne asked Eames. "No Nick. I'm not asking Ariadne that." She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Nick wants to know if you and Arthur are expecting a little bundle of joy."

"Oh my gosh. Nick! Really?" Ariadne's cheeks turned red.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Eames took the phone from Daphne.

"No Nick. I am not pregnant." She had to laugh.

"Oh brother." Arthur groaned, taking the phone from Ariadne. "Really? Are we really having this conversation at six in the morning?"

"Actually Arthur darling it's only about nine in the evening." Eames chuckled.

"Eames. Shut it. I don't want to talk right now. I just want to sleep." Arthur snipped.

"Chill out Arthur." Daphne chuckled. "We'll let you get back to sleep."

"Thanks Sis. I'll call you later. Love you." He yawned.

"You had better call me. Love you too. Sleep well."

* * *

_Again, my apologies for the wait. Let me know what you thought. Thanks!_


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